Blow the Flame Out
by SheWroteintheWind
Summary: AU. Because we're all a little self-destructive and sometimes the only way to fight pain is with more pain.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** **Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto.**

 **Rated T:** **Due to coarse language.**

* * *

" _If I pulled a you on you, you wouldn't like that shit."_

* * *

Waving the wand once more over lashes already curled and lathered into dusty, feathered splays of primped perfection, Sakura caps her mascara shut and haphazardly tosses it into the top drawer of her bathroom vanity. She's stalled for long enough; if she's really going to go through with this spur of the moment decision that manifested itself during an all-out tantrum last night, she really needs to get a move on it. It's the least she owes the fragments of powder blue porcelain plates now lining the bottom of the kitchen trash can.

Now is the time for action. Consequences will be for the morning.

"Sakura! Gaawwwdd, you take longer than Ino!"

"Coming!" Sniffling in quick succession to clear her nose so that she at least sounds somewhat like a normal, composed human being and most certainly _not_ like someone who's moments away from disintegrating into a shrieking, sobbing, shaking mess. That was last night. And the night before that.

Arms crossed over her chest, Temari lounges against the wall in the narrow hallway of their shared three-bedroom apartment, boots already on feet impatiently shifting in place. Her gaze quickly lifts from the screen of her cellphone when Sakura hesitantly steps out of the bathroom.

Sakura gives her best attempt at a smile, but immediately knows it comes out all wrong when Temari's sharply painted eyes narrow in suspicion.

"Are you sure you feel up to this? You know Ino's not really going to hold it against you if you don't go."

Shoulders slumping in defeat at so quickly being called out on her farce, Sakura sighs with good humor, this time almost sounding convincing.

"Yeah, right. Ino not hold a grudge for missing her twenty-first birthday? She's made us celebrate her very existence every day this week."

"Don't remind me, my kidneys sincerely hate me already," Temari mutters, shouldering off the wall to lead the way downstairs to the kitchen where an exuberant pair of shrieks has Sakura fighting back the reflex to plug her ears.

"Ohhhhh, Hinaaattaaa," Tenten croons as Sakura rounds the corner into the overcrowded kitchen.

The heiress is her usual quivering, blushing self, eyes looking everywhere but at the two people intently staring her down with matching cat-that-got-the-canary looks.

"Ino, Tenten, what the hell are you doing now? Could you sound any more like dying banshees?" Temari scoffs, hand grabbing for the nearest bottle of opened liquor within reach despite her earlier comment to Sakura.

Ino sticks her tongue out, flicking her head in a way to send her whip-like ponytail bouncing playfully over her shoulder. On Ino it looks flawlessly natural, but Sakura knows better than to think Ino hadn't practiced that move a hundred times over.

 _More like a million._

Already, the blonde birthday girl has donned the articles of her privilege: a hot pink satin sash trimmed in gold to make sure everyone knows why today is the most important day of the year, and a rhinestone studded tiara perched carefully on her head in case they can't read. Sakura rolls her eyes, but she truly wouldn't have her best friend any other way.

Ino knows how to celebrate life and Sakura could really use something in her life worth celebrating right about now.

Through with teasing Hinata for the moment, Tenten turns to the rest of the group with a knowing gleam in her eye.

"Shots?"

"Shots!" Ino takes up the cry, already racing over to the laptop perched on the living room mantel to select just the right song before they begin their night of debauchery, on this, the day of her birth.

Hustling back into the kitchen on heels alarmingly tall, Ino accepts the shot glass passed to her by Temari and all the girls raise them high overhead as the speakers pulse loud enough for Sakura to feel the music resonate in her bones.

"Let this be a night of bad decisions and no regrets and may you always love and envy me," Ino toasts, knocking her shot back.

"Here's to bad decisions alright," Temari deadpans.

"And no regrets!" Tenten cheers.

Sakura clinks glasses with Hinata, thankful that at least one person in their group can be relied on to keep her head level tonight.

 _It certainly won't be me._

She follows the thought with two more shots.

* * *

" _When the roof was on fire, you never let me know."_

* * *

Sakura is slightly overwarm and her head feels just a tad too heavy for her neck to support, but she follows on the heels of Ino's entourage as they leave behind the quieter residential streets of tired, sagging duplexes rented out to too many careless students year after year. A few houses are in the midst of their own revelries, with college students cat-calling the squad of black-clad girls strolling down the sidewalk behind a high pony-tailed leader who never just walks, but struts.

Sakura fumbles distractedly with her bracelets after half catching the remark of some inebriated fool she can only assume was aimed at her due to words such as 'natural' and 'pink.'

 _How original._

It's not until they're approaching the rowdier apartment complexes nearer to their destination that she is truly given reason to pause as, lo and behold, who could that be playing beersbee in the scraggly front lawn across the street?

 _His_ housemate.

 _Suigetsu sure is awfully far from home tonight. Did Sasuke kick him and Jugo out so that he and – No!_

She wasn't going to let her thoughts wander down that particular rabbit hole tonight.

Of course, as luck would have it, whatever duo Suigetsu and his teammate are playing against is a little too far past mildly intoxicated and their efforts send the Frisbee flying far and wide of the target.

Sakura can hear Suigetsu's groan of complaint that there's no way he's going to be the one to fetch the plastic disk. His partner shouts out a plea for help from the girls just as the Frisbee scitters across the lawn to rest on the sidewalk at their feet.

Sakura's eyes widen at the offending piece of scuffed up plastic.

"Sakura?"

Tenten expertly returns the Frisbee to the field of play with the flick of her wrist, but Suigetsu's attention is no longer on his so-called competition as he looks the assemblage of girls over, eyes alighting on their obvious clubbing attire.

Sakura wants to hide when his eyes return to her figure, a curious twist of his lips setting Sakura's nerves on end.

 _He knows._

How could he not when he shares the same apartment with _him_?

 _And now he sees me all dressed up like this. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where we're going. And he's definitely going to tell –_

Sakura clenches her fists.

 _What do I care? I want him to know._

"And where are you fine ladies off to this evening?" Suigetsu asks, languidly approaching them. He's nothing but a snake nearing for the fatal strike as far as Sakura is concerned. However, she's spared from responding to the question pointedly directed toward her.

"No place that would let you in," Temari replies cuttingly, entirely unflinching when Suigetsu's face contorts into one of his best sarcastic snarls.

"Oh har har, bitch. Bite me."

"You'd enjoy that, wouldn't you, you sick fuck?"

"Maybe," he grins slyly. But the exchange isn't enough to divert him from Sakura's clearly uncomfortable form as she maneuvers herself to the other side of her friends, putting them between her and the boy with the too sharp teeth.

"You know, Sakura, you recovered more quickly than I'd have expected. It looks like I didn't give you enough credit."

Yet, his words seem contradicting to his expression with his eyebrows raised dubiously as though waiting for Sakura to prove him right so that he may retract his most recent statement.

"Lay off, Suigetsu! Can't you see it's my birthday? I'm not dealing with your crap tonight."

"Your birthdayyyy?" Suigetsu drawls out, his tone layered with false surprise, "I had no idea! Here, let me give you a present, dollface."

Of course, presents from Suigetsu are only ever more insults.

Thrusting his middle finger up in mock offering, Suigetsu then turns on his heel to return to the game that has temporarily gone to time-out as the other team takes a moment to compose themselves after a heaving session in the nearby shrubbery.

Ino shouts obscenities at his retreating back, but Hinata's timid insistence that they simply forget him and move on with their night tempers her into reluctant agreement.

But it's just as the group starts moving again that Suigetsu decides to land one final blow to Sakura's wavering stability.

"Hey, Sakura! I'll let Sasuke know you're doing just fine, ok?!"

Suigetsu's false cheer and sincere promise has Sakura's teeth grinding together.

 _Let him find out._

She doesn't care. She refuses to.

* * *

" _Gold up in my, gold up in my teeth."_

* * *

The music is loud, the dance floor is sticky, and Sakura can't hear what Tenten is saying directly into her ear.

"What?!" Sakura asks, over-exaggerating her expression to compensate for the poor sound quality.

Tenten rolls her eyes in defeat, instead opting to drag Sakura along by the hand, cutting a way through the swarm of bodies in a way that Sakura can only admire.

As they near the stairwell that will take them up to the balcony and rooftop bar area, Tenten releases her hold on Sakura to exuberantly mount the stairs two at a time.

 _She's been spending way too much time with Lee._

"I want to buy the first round of drinks tonight," Tenten explains, looking over her shoulder to make sure Sakura is following her, "We'd be waiting in line forever down on the main floor. You'll help me carry them?"

Sakura nods agreeably, suddenly finding herself in the mood to take a bath in a barrel of vodka. Maybe that'd numb her to the humiliation of _that_ night.

"Soooo," Tenten hesitates, "How exactly are you holding up, Sakura? I didn't really think you'd come with us tonight, to be honest."

Sakura catches up and pauses on the landing leading up to the final stint of stairs.

"I…I'm trying not to think about it."

She doesn't like the way Tenten's expression saddens at this admittance, doesn't want to feel any more pathetic than she already does, and doesn't want to exhaust all her energy by putting on a show of false happiness, but right now, that's easier than staying at home and questioning everything she could do differently to make him choose her.

"Come on, let's go," Sakura tilts her head in the direction of the rooftop, taking the lead.

Tenten's assumption that the upper floor wouldn't be as crowded is barely founded as they again nudge their ways through a sea of barely shifting people. Luckily, a sweet-faced grin from Tenten earns them quick attention from the bartender who has their order filled in record time before quickly turning to the next group of girls vying for favoritism to get them prompt service. With Tenten taking the more cumbersome share of the drinks, Sakura holds a glass in each hand as they make the return trip downstairs, trying her best not to slosh the liquid whose identity she can't quite place.

"What is this stuff?" she at last asks, eyes caught on the fine flecks suspended in the glass.

"Goldschlager, duh," Tenten answers, expecting that to be answer enough.

Sakura doesn't know how she feels about consuming precious metals. She's not a doctor yet, but something tells her the human body isn't meant to digest gold. Still, given her mood this evening, she can't really say personal well-being is at the top of her priority list. What could a little more pain do? Shrugging, she takes a sip from her glass, miraculously avoiding any spills as the two girls head down the stairwell into the main area just in time for the strobe lights to inject them into a warped perception of movement as the lights zap on and off, laser-like streaks of color making Sakura's eyes spin. Even Tenten seems confounded as to how to move in conditions like this. It's as though their eyes and bodies are operating on completely different communication systems, their feet moving in the wrong directions at the wrong speed.

Thankfully, the light show ends after a few moments of staggering deception and Sakura locates the bar along with Hinata and Temari.

"Where's Ino?" Sakura questions, as Tenten struggles to pull up alongside her in the crowd to hand off drinks.

"With a distraction," Temari answers, 'distraction' being her term for boys Ino only plays with like a spider at home in its web catching flies.

Sakura has to agree it's a pretty good way to put it as Ino catches sight of her friends together, leaving her dance partner abruptly all alone in mid-grind as she sashays her way through bodies with practiced grace.

"This tiara is giving me a headache," Ino complains, slipping it from her head to hand to Sakura in exchange for her drink.

"I don't want this!" Sakura protests.

"Ah, ah, ah," Ino wags her finger admonishingly, "It's my birthday."

"The most over-rated holiday of the year," Sakura mumbles with false agitation.

"Pssshh, you know you love it, Forehead."

"I most certainly – "

"Heeeyyyy! Saakuurrraaaa-chaaann!"

There's only one person in the world Sakura knows whose voice could so distinctly penetrate over the din of the crowded club.

 _Naruto._

Said bouncing blond in all of his blindingly orange glory is practically on top of her when she spins around to answer his call.

"Naruto!" Sakura complains as she practically bashes her nose into his chest, "What are you doing here?"

"Hinata-chan told me you guys were headed here tonight. Oh yeah, happy birthday, Ino!" Naruto tacks on as an obvious afterthought that isn't missed by the birthday girl who merely offers a sniff of acceptance before returning to her prowl on the dance floor with Tenten and Temari following closely behind, abandoning their empty glasses.

Sakura raises an eyebrow at Hinata who is too busy studying her lap to notice.

"I didn't know you were exactly the club-going type," Sakura replies incredulously.

"Eh, not really," Naruto scratches the back of his head, "But Kiba and Shikamaru have some lame-ass assignment due at midnight they just started on, and last I checked on Choji he was still on the toilet with a bad case of the – "

"Stop," Sakura holds up her hand, "I really don't need to know."

Naruto snickers and Sakura wants to bonk him on the head for his immaturity, but refrains. Her limbs are starting to feel sluggish, not that she particularly minds. It's almost kind of relaxing to not feel so much pent up rage when she doesn't have an outlet for all her frustrations.

"So, I heard this thing from Sasuke…" Naruto begins sheepishly.

 _Hello, rage, my old friend._

Sakura groans, but a small part of her is touched that Naruto would check up on her, going entirely out of his way to show up here tonight just to talk to her about the issue she's been working so determinedly to turn into a non-issue if only people would drop the matter…

Yet, she recognizes the steel-like resolve in Naruto's eyes. He's not going to leave her alone about this, not when he suspects (and rightfully so) that she's hurting.

She groans again, stamping her foot slightly in frustration, "Fine. Follow me."

It takes some time to weave their way back to the stairwell as Sakura isn't nearly so adept as Tenten or Ino and Naruto might as well be walking with two left feet when it comes to navigating the dance floor painted in ever-changing lights. But eventually she leads him to the outside stairwell, stopping on the landing she and Tenten had rested at earlier. From here, they're only two stories from the ground, so rather than a skyline view, they're offered an overlook of the passersby on the sidewalk entering and exiting the club. The scent of deliciously greasy _something_ for sell from the food trucks strategically stationed at the curb just outside the club and all the other bars lining the street has Sakura taking deep breaths of longing.

But really, food isn't the only thing she needs right now. Turning her back to the street to face Naruto, she takes another sip of her drink, biting back a smile as Naruto scrunches his face in comic scrutiny.

"I didn't think you drank?"

"Yeah, well, it's been that kind of week," Sakura runs a tired hand through her hair, offering her drink to Naruto for a taste. Curiously, he sniffs at it before taking a larger sampling than Sakura would consider polite, but she doesn't comment on it. In truth, she really doesn't have much taste for most alcohol and this particular drink has her running her tongue across her teeth periodically to check for those damned gold flecks to ensure none have gotten embarrassingly caught.

Naruto's grimace has her laughing as she sees sparkling glimmers dotting his tongue as he sticks it out in displeasure.

"Guuuhhh! That stuff is shit," Naruto whines, scraping his tongue across the roof of his mouth as though that would rid him of the offending flavor.

"It's not the greatest," Sakura agrees casually, taking another sip just to get a reaction from her amusing friend. Finally calming down, Naruto leans against the railing alongside Sakura, sharing the barely glimpsed view of the rooftop area and its many patrons.

"Soooo, about Sasuke," Naruto begins, his tone surprisingly serious, "what exactly happened?"

Sakura regards her long-time friend with apprehension, wondering just how much is necessary to re-hash when she really just wants to have her memory wiped clean of the whole event.

"How much did he tell you?"

Naruto clucks his tongue in irritation, "You know the bastard, asking him for details makes his asshole pucker. All he said was that you blew up at him for nothing – " Naruto sticks his hands up in defense to ward off Sakura's sharp gaze, "His words, not mine. And he said you two were done."

"How typical of him," Sakura all but growls, "Of course all the blame is on me."

"So what _did_ happen?" Naruto implores impatiently. Sakura wonders if in retrospect it was such a grand idea to introduce Naruto to Cosmo magazines. It's certainly made him more gossipy and nosy to know what's going on in the lives of his close friends.

Sakura inhales loudly through her nose, trying to piece together in her mind the shortest route to answer Naruto's question with the truth. Glancing at her phone to check the time for no other reason than to stall, her heart throbs a little painfully at the reminder of her current situation as her wallpaper was hastily changed back to one of the generic factory preset options after that horrible night.

At last she calmly begins with as much nonchalance as she can muster.

"So, you recall how two days ago was our one year anniversary?"

Naruto nods attentively, mouth set in a flat line.

"Well, I decided to get really into it. I mean, this semester has been hell for the both of us with the amount of work and studying, so we've barely had any time to ourselves. But since midterms just finished up, I thought we'd finally have a slight lull so we could actually celebrate.

"So, I got Ino and Temari out of the house for the night which didn't take too much begging because Ino's been driving everyone crazy with forcing them to do anything and everything she wants. And I got everything cleaned up and made this really amazing dinner I got the recipe for from his mom after he bragged about it. He was supposed to come over and he never showed up."

Sakura pauses to finish the remainders of her drink, happy to have the glass drained but anxious to no longer have it as a distraction.

"Why not?" Naruto asks, brows furrowed in expectation that he's not going to find the reason very acceptable.

Sakura smirks, as though about to deliver the punchline.

"He forgot," she explains with a fake smile that doesn't reach her downturned eyes, "That's what he texted me at nearly midnight after I repeatedly tried calling him," Sakura's fingers turn white as she clenches her glass a little more tightly, voice turning bitter, "I was actually worried something had happened to him. Like he got in a car crash or something on the way over."

Naruto appears as though he's about to comment, but Sakura beats him to it, determined to get everything out in one go.

"But he's a liar or," Sakura gives a hiccup-like laugh, "Maybe not. It wouldn't be unlike him to actually forget about something like that," _about me_ goes unsaid, "But I found out where he really was. He was with Karin."

The name sounds weird in her own voice. It's just two syllables and it doesn't convey nearly enough of the betrayal that she feels it should.

Naruto's nostrils flare in anger for his friend.

"I saw it online. You know, while I was worrying about everything under the moon that could have happened to him to explain why he didn't show up and why he wasn't answering any of my messages. Apparently, she had some kind of poster presentation she was giving and Sasuke decided to show up and support _her_ ," Sakura hates the tightness in her throat, constricting her voice into a petty, pitched cry, but she can't let up now, "And she must have done really well because they went out to celebrate afterward."

Rapidly, Sakura pulls up the photo on her phone, the photo she had taken a screenshot of and saved as evidence to throw in Sasuke's face if he even dared deny his actions. Not that he ever did. He didn't even recognize what he did as wrong; he didn't even see the need to disclaim what he did, much less apologize.

Sakura disgustedly angles the screen so Naruto can get a look at the image she brought up. An image showing a happy redhead dressed in a tight white blouse and a hand pressed to the chest of a blank-faced Sasuke, their obviously just delivered dinners and half-consumed glasses of wine laid out appealingly on the table before them. Sakura was glad she hadn't touched the anniversary meal she had prepared for she would have thrown it all up when coming across that picture for the first time.

Because Karin had always bothered Sakura in some small way ever since she was introduced to her. Karin, who was always texting Sasuke with questions and requests to meet up to work on homework for their shared classes. Karin, who always found a way to wriggle her way to Sasuke's side when Sakura wasn't looking. Karin, whose compliments always seemed to be concealing snarky comparisons between herself and Sakura with the aim of putting the aspiring medic down. Whether it was gushing over how thin Sakura was when Karin had to deal with fitting her annoying curves into jeans or how she was jealous over Sakura's short, easy to manage hair (always said while she curled her fingers around the ends of her own long locks). Sakura just didn't trust the girl.

But Sasuke did.

"You know I'll gladly punch him in the face for you, Sakura-chan," Naruto promises seriously, and Sakura's heart thaws ever so slightly at his loyalty, even knowing that this situation likely won't change Naruto's friendship with Sasuke – something that has always been oddly dysfunctional, yet enduring nonetheless.

And she doesn't really believe she wants it to. This is something that exists just between her and Sasuke and perhaps she always knew their relationship was destined to go up in flames. How long had she desperately and publicly pined after the Uchiha until one day he just suddenly and abruptly gave in? Maybe their relationship had only happened due to Sakura's persistence. At the time, she had seen it as a positive reflection on herself, but perhaps it was a sign that she only "won" because Sasuke gave up, not in.

"No," Sakura denies his offer, knowing it'd just make the situation even messier, "I guess I just need to move on. I mean, what was I thinking? Like Sasuke would ever actually care about me?" Sakura doesn't mean for her voice to warble so precariously, doesn't mean to let all the self-doubt show so plainly, "You know what our relationship was like," she looks at Naruto for confirmation, but only sees surprise and pity so she turns her gaze around to the street below, "He could barely find time for me and when we did hang out it was almost never one-on-one. It's like he couldn't stand the thought of being with me by himself. Like I was really that awful."

Sakura hangs her head, refusing to raise it up when she feels Naruto's arm settle around her shoulders, his side pressing against hers.

"Don't even think that way, Sakura," Naruto replies sternly, "You're amazing and Sasuke is…well, Sasuke is a moron for treating you the way he has. But I know he doesn't think so little of you. Even if he never shows it."

But Sakura doesn't want to hear it, doesn't want to hear anything that might give her hope at the possibility of everything being mended because it was all just a huge misunderstanding due to Sasuke's inability to properly communicate. He's a grown man. He doesn't get that excuse anymore. And why should she be willing to commit to a relationship when the person she's committing to can't even have the decency to at least sometimes put her first? Why should she be the one to settle for such treatment? Why is that all she deserves?

Why couldn't it have just been perfect like she had always dreamed?

"That's not good enough for me, Naruto," Sakura replies, ice chips in her tone.

"No," Naruto agrees, "I don't think it should be."

Taking the glass forgotten in Sakura's hands, Naruto sets it on the tray of a passing waiter, ignoring the employee's frown of displeasure.

Turning her toward him, Naruto envelopes Sakura in one of his famous Naruto hugs and Sakura can't find it in her to mind the suffocating arms squeezing every last bit of breath out of her lungs.

"I'm still going to kick his ass for you," Naruto affirms.

"Thanks," Sakura cracks a weak smile, hidden against Naruto's shoulder as she wipes at the moisture collecting in her eyes. Stepping back, Sakura crosses her arms against her chest, suddenly aware of the breezy night and her lack of Temari's style that always has the blonde toting a scarlet leather jacket wherever she goes.

"How about we go back inside for drinks?" Sakura suggests, "I think I'm ready to actually have some fun tonight."

"You got it!" Naruto beams.

* * *

" _Your head has no right to say no.  
Tonight it's "ready, set, go.""_

* * *

Of course, when they do make it back to the bar, Sakura has to purchase Naruto's drink for him as he's not quite of age yet. A point that Naruto enjoys as it saves him from having to open his constantly depleted wallet.

"You're paying me back for this," Sakura tells him as she passes the beer of his choice over, watching his shit-eating grin melt into shock.

"But Sakura-chan!"

"No buts."

"N-Naruto-kun. Sakura-chan."

Turning to the timid voice that just barely penetrates the noise of the club during a transition in songs, Sakura is surprised to find her shy friend with what appears to be the same glass of Goldschlager clasped between her hands, now half full.

"Hinata!" Naruto exuberantly greets, "You're drinking that stuff too?"

At Naruto's sickened expression, Hinata blushes, looking down at her feet, and Sakura again fights the urge to slap him upside the head for not taking into account how sensitive Hinata can be.

"Sakura, there you are!"

Sakura's head whips up to see Ino boldly cutting a path through a dense cluster of dancers, not afraid to give a hip check or a soft shove where needed. Tenten, decidedly more polite about it, tries to keep up on the feisty blonde's heels.

"You lost Temari?" Sakura asks, though more for commentary than actual concern over her housemate. Out of all her friends, Temari knows best how to look after herself and handle anyone who gets a little too handsy or aggressive with her.

Ino waves off the remark, "Nah, she found her own distraction for the night. We just left to get another round of drinks to refuel. Also, if you really want to have a good laugh tonight, you should look for the bright green beast making space for himself over by the DJ's booth," Ino suggests, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder back in said direction.

"G-green b-beast?" Hinata questions uncertainly.

"Lee," Tenten answers with an exasperated sigh, "Neji must've slipped up in keeping an eye on him because Lee has definitely been drinking something."

"No way!" Naruto crows, "I've gotta see this," he says with relish, knowing how legendarily ridiculous Lee can be after so much as a sip of alcohol.

"Naruto, wait up!" Ino cries just as he turns to go check out the spectacle, "Take Hinata with you. She's never seen Lee when he gets like this."

It's a total lie, but Naruto either doesn't know or doesn't care, holding out his hand for Hinata to grab onto so he can assist in pulling the shy Hyuga through the unyielding masses.

"She's totally crushing on him right now," Ino turns to whisper in Sakura's ear, a sly grin splitting her glossed lips.

Sakura's eyes widen at this bit of news, wondering how a quiet, timid sweetheart like Hinata could find herself falling for almost her complete opposite.

But who knows? Maybe that's what the strongest sort of love is made from. How would Sakura know?

Noting the odd expression marring her best friend's face, Ino decides to tote Sakura along on her way to the bar, fearlessly tossing elbows to nudge her way beside Tenten who has already placed her order.

"Don't worry, Sakura. Dr. Ino has just the pick-me-up to prescribe for you," Ino winks, ignoring the eyebrow lift this comment earns her (as well as Sakura's pointed indication she already has a drink) as she leans over the counter to flash the male bartender her most practiced 'come hither' look. Sakura takes the moment of respite as Ino flirts her way ahead of the other waiting patrons, likely even getting a discount knowing her. Bringing out her phone, she taps her way through a list of unopened texts, most of which were sent from the girls she's with asking where she ran off to at various points in the night, one from her mom asking if she's remembering to take her vitamins (uuugghhh), and one from…

Sakura inhales sharply, thankful there's no way anyone could hear such a reaction amongst all the chatter and music. Heart racing erratically, Sakura holds her breath before opening the message, eyes greedily racing to devour every single word.

' _Is this some kind of cry for attention?'_

Attached is a picture of her and the other girls somewhere outside, passing under a street lamp. It was taken sometime earlier tonight during their walk to the club.

 _Suigetsu._

Her hands want to strangle something. Preferably the little rat that had to be a complete creep and sneak a picture of her to send back to _him_.

 _As if he has any right to keep tabs on me! As if I need to justify what I do or where I go. I'm supposed to be nothing to him and now he cares! Now he wants to fucking know what I - !_

"Whoooaaa, girl, easy there," Ino says, face fretful as she turns with drinks in hand, "Your shoulders are shaking."

Sakura squeezes her eyes shut, tilting her head back as she mouths a silent 'Why?' to the ceiling.

"Look at this," Sakura grits out between clenched teeth, bringing her phone up to eye level for Ino to read.

Ino's baby blues widen in surprise, mouth dropping open.

"What a conceited ass! He thinks that you going out to have fun is some desperate attempt to make him jealous?" Ino spits. Her venom is appreciated, but Sakura doesn't want to admit how close her words hit home. In truth, that had pretty much been her line of thinking earlier in the day when still contemplating if she could piece back together the fractured segments of her dignity to risk being seen out in public at one of the bars most frequented by her fellow classmates. Although it's not as if she had planned on sending documentation of her evening to flaunt her reformed self in front of Sasuke, but the sentiment had certainly been in those half-formed, half-crazed ideas.

"Ignore that asshole," Ino advises rather brazenly, holding her drink high to accentuate her proclamation, "You're too beautiful and too smart to put up with his bullshit."

Gratefully, Sakura accepts her drink to clink with Ino's, appreciating her friend's sympathy, knowing that underneath the self-centered show Ino has been putting on the last few days, a lot of it was for the benefit of Sakura – to take some attention away from the heartbroken tragedy that just wanted some time to piece herself back together in silence. Ino had done an applaudingly good job at keeping their other well-meaning friends at bay to allow her to do this.

"Thanks, Ino," Sakura smiles sincerely this time.

"Chicks before dicks," Ino grins in return, "Now, I think you owe the birthday girl a dance."

Sakura laughs as she's dragged behind the blonde who seems to have gotten a second wind thanks to her absinthe sour.

* * *

" _Crashing, hit a wall.  
Right now I need a miracle."_

* * *

Sakura doesn't know how it started, or how she even managed to clamber up the three foot stage without making a complete fool of herself in her current state and too short skirt, but she finds herself dancing face-to-face with Ino on the small, raised platform the DJ's booth resides on. Normally, the area is off- limits to the patrons whose less than sober dispositions tend to make them a hazard around the expensive equipment, but perhaps the two small girls were overlooked as a non-issue by the nearby bouncer keeping a close eye on them.

It's a decision the man may soon regret as others start to follow Ino and Sakura's example. But rather than demand the dancers return to the designated dancing floor, the DJ merely continues to play, switching tracks and starting up a decidedly faster-paced jazzy electro mix that has Sakura swinging her head back and forth without a care in the world for what she looks like.

Ino's drink has long since disappeared, but Sakura's hand still clings to her own, though admittedly it's mostly watered down with melted ice at this point.

"I love you, Sakura!" Ino proclaims loudly in Sakura's ear, giggling like a little girl as she leans forward into a shimmy.

Sakura laughs, being quite familiar with Ino's affectionate antics whilst drunk, and knowing she isn't far from reaching the same level.

 _Probably be best to cut myself off for the night at this point. Don't want to be a total wreck tomorrow._

And yet even with this thought, she knocks back her drink for one last taste before setting the glass on top of the blaring speaker at her back.

Ino takes Sakura's hand, spinning her around before Sakura uses her momentum to send Ino into her own complimentary twirl. Ino can't help but laugh throughout the whole thing, yet impressively, her feet never betray her balance despite the treacherous height of her heels. Sakura can only envy her best friend's poise; in comparison, she has to stick to flats lest she break an ankle at every outing.

"Ino!"

Tenten comes bouncing up beside them, defying the laws of physics as she manages to find space amidst the growing number of bodies joining them on the raised platform. Delighted at being reunited with her friend she hasn't seen in the last half hour, Ino throws her arms around the brunette's neck refusing to let go. Reassuringly, Tenten pats her overdramatic (and intoxicated) friend on the back, while discreetly attempting to disengage herself from Ino's desperate grasp.

Sakura can't help but laugh at Tenten's wide-eyed, silent plea for help, but her laugh soon turns into a short shriek of surprise as the embrace of gravity pulls her backward. However, when her skull doesn't meet with a painful and disastrous collision with the less than disinfected floor, she learns that gravity wasn't the only entity at work in her impromptu plunge. Attached to the other end of her arm is a guy around her age with an apologetic grin on his face.

"Sorry, I just thought you might like a dance partner," he says in answer to Sakura's half-pissed, half-confused expression, "I didn't mean to make you fall."

 _Then you shouldn't have pulled me._

"So, will you dance with me?" he asks good-naturedly, releasing his hold on Sakura's arm now that he's gotten her attention.

Sakura is about to tell him to get lost and rejoin her friends, but one look at the guy swaying on his feet tells her he may be in a similar state as Ino. Perhaps, while dangerous, he hadn't had any ill intentions with dragging Sakura down to floor level.

 _What the hell…_

"Sure."

She did come here to dance and forget all her woes, after all.

Elated, the boy turns Sakura around into the dance positon she has come to expect from all males in her age range. Inwardly sighing, she resigns herself to dance in place as one hand settles on her upper arm, the other at her hip as she moves against him.

It's a positon that while appearing easy, tends to put a lot of strain on the person in front, in Sakura's experience. Her thighs are burning with lactic acid as one song bleeds into the next and her partner begins to rely on her to support more and more of his weight as his system buzzes with alcohol and his one-track mind settles on a single pursuit.

As techno turns to more bubblegum pop, Sakura's eyes catch sight of something that has her anxiety returning ten-fold.

Akatsuki.

 _Shit. Shit. Shit._

She's not exactly on terrible terms with them, but there's one particular member of their little rag-tag gang that Sakura would rather not run into so soon after her break-up with Sasuke. And while she doesn't currently see the elder Uchiha brother, where there's one, there's more.

The Akatsuki move as a pack.

Distractedly, Sakura tilts her head away from the lips running along the outer shell of her ear.

Right now she only sees the slick-haired sexist with the foul mouth and the tanned one covered in stitch-like tattoos, but it's only a matter of time.

Snapping back to her present situation, Sakura realizes she's allowed her partner's misbehavior to reach unacceptable levels during her distraction. Drifting hands is Sakura's first sign that it may be time to ditch and run, and she cranes her head back over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of where she last saw Ino and Tenten.

Gone.

 _Fantastic._

And while she's at it, she spots tall, blue, and sharky making his entrance. That's essentially the lightning before the thunder as far as she's concerned.

To add to the level of fantastic-ness, a hand roves over the gauzy material covering Sakura's ribcage, settling alongside her left breast. Sakura gently moves it, resting it high on her hip as a reprisal while her eyes continue to scan for her friends and path of escape.

Her partner doesn't seem to get the hint.

Instead, his other hand that had been tracing innocuous designs on her hip and outer thigh, dips down even lower, fingering the hem of her skirt, to touch the skin beneath it.

 _Fucking. Hell. No._

Sakura ends it there, stomping the heel of her foot down onto his toes and shoving his offending arms away from her body. She barely hears his grunt of pain as she swiftly slips through the surrounding crowd, cutting a beeline for the ladies room to collect her frazzled nerves in. But by eleven o'clock, the club has just about reached capacity as well as optimal levels for shoes to stick to floors. The added traction trips Sakura up just as she nears the door to her sanctuary and she throws her hands out to brace herself against the wall, crashing into it with enough force to cause twin shocks of pain to shoot up her wrists.

" _Fuck_ ," Sakura curses aloud, dazedly pushing open the door to the bathroom with her hip. Inside, the lights are glaring and, in Sakura's opinion, rather unflattering, casting harsh shadows on everyone's faces. Still, dozens of women line the wall of sinks to touch up lipstick and pat down disobedient hair. Sakura waits her turn in line for one of the stalls, biding her time by taking out her phone to shoot off a few quick texts to her friends in the hope of tracking down their whereabouts.

She's not surprised when she doesn't get a reply from Ino or Temari, but even Hinata?

 _Where are you guys?_

Her tongue is fuzzy with the lingering sensation of the absinthe and she's reminded of the gold flecks from the night's first round of indulgence. Running her tongue once more across her teeth, Sakura impatiently glares at her phone as though that would coax a response out of her preoccupied friends.

Surprisingly, it seems to work as the small, green light winks at her for attention. Opening the text, Sakura's hopes crash through the floor as her mind processes the words staring back at her.

' _I don't understand you. This whole situation is completely annoying and I'd be willing to just talk to you about it if you want to meet up.'_

Sakura glowers at the screen, stiff with disbelief so that she has to be prompted from the girl behind her to either enter the open stall or get out of line.

Dumbly, Sakura walks into the enclosed shelter away from prying eyes, turning the lock and leaning back against the door for a moment to compose her thoughts.

 _What do I even want?_

She can't say, and she still doesn't know as she stomps on the handle to flush the toilet before taking her place at the sink next to a hysterically sobbing woman with mascara streaming down her face and two of her friends fluttering helplessly around, trying to calm her down with placating words that work to little effect.

It's exactly the kind of scene Sakura had done her best to avoid with her own friends, and so she can sympathize with the young woman. Resolutely, she dries her hands under the whir of the automatic blower, already formulating her response.

Stopping inside the door of the bathroom, she lights up the screen of her phone to reply with: 'It's done. I didn't choose this ending. You did. You chose it again and again. Every single time you forgot me. Every single time you ignored me. Every single time you put something else before me. I have no more words for you. There's nothing to discuss.'

Immediately, her phone vibrates back.

' _Where are you?'_

 _Damn him. Damn him and this sudden change of heart. It's too little, too late, Sasuke!_

She wants to cry. She wants to scream in frustration. She wants to kick a hole in the wall and seriously considers it for a moment, but decides it's not worth the broken toes.

With clenched fists, she bulldozes her way out into the crowds, single-mindedly aiming for the bar with every intention of claiming one of the few stools for herself to sit at and wait until she either spots one of her friends or they find her first. And maybe, just maybe, get a nightcap.

She all but dives for a seat just as one becomes vacated, upsetting a few of the nearby patrons in her aggressive seizing, but she's in no mood to care about what strangers think of her less than polite behavior. Foregoing the usual tricks and charms Ino tends to employ for quicker service, Sakura drums her fingers boredly over the polished wood of the bar top, in no particular hurry to be anywhere. It's likely that her friends have migrated to the rooftop area with its pleasing stringed lights and nighttime view, but Sakura doesn't feel like expending the energy to trek all the way up there should her efforts prove fruitless. They'll come around eventually in search of her.

At last the bartender takes notice of her forlorn expression and isolated self, hesitantly approaching to take her order. Sakura decides to do something she's never bothered with before at one of these establishments and actually requests a drink menu. It's just as she's perusing the laminated list that Temari taps her on the shoulder before thrusting a pack of cigarettes and a lighter in her face.

"Hey, glad I found you. Hold onto these, will you? I wrestled them away from Shikamaru because I'm a good person looking out for his lungs. If he comes by asking for them, play dumb at all costs. Even if he resorts to begging," the blonde instructs firmly.

"W-Wha – I –"

"Thanks, Sakura," Temari replies, hurrying back the way she had come. Sakura watches as she takes the door to the outdoor patio area where the tobacco-inclined like to loiter.

 _Shikamaru and Kiba must've finished their project…What the hell am I supposed to do with this?_

Sakura sets the half empty box of cigarettes down with distaste, storing away the neon green lighter to keep it out of sight of any bouncers looking to remind patrons of their authority.

After finally choosing something dark and heavy, Sakura receives her selected poison and half pays attention to the muted images flickering on the TV screen above the bar. Anything to keep her mind away from the phone vibrating insistently from within her wristlet.

"Whoa there, short stuff. I think I'm going to need to see some I.D."

Sakura scowls to herself, collecting the vestiges of her patience to not completely flip out on the asshole currently hassling her. All things considered, she thinks that's pretty commendable of herself.

"If that's your choice of pick-up lines to check if I'm jailbait, you really need to work on your material, cree-eee-EEE – Kisame!" Sakura stutters, cutting off her spiteful barb as she turns to actually take a look at the man addressing her.

"In the flesh," Kisame assures, grinning. He reaches over to grab Sakura's bottle, inspecting the label and noting the proof with a short whistle.

"You don't take it easy, do you, squirt?"

"You really need to work on your phrasing," Sakura remarks, reaching for the newly purchased drink which Kisame seems hesitant to return.

 _Who are you, my mother?_

Kisame gives a bark of laughter, resting back on his elbows to keep an eye on the crowd surrounding him.

"So, drinking alone tonight?"

Sakura stiffens, wondering if Kisame could possibly know about her current situation, but decides it's unlikely, or that if he did, it's not like he'd even care enough to comment on it. Rather, it's much more likely he's interested in knowing why Sakura isn't off dancing with her friends.

Waving her hand flippantly, Sakura answers, "Oh, they're around. It's been a rough week celebrating Ino's birthday every single day. I needed a breather."

Kisame nods as though he understands although Sakura truly doubts he can fully appreciate the energy one must expend to appease Ino during her birthweek.

"Why are you here? I thought I saw Hidan and Kakuzu lurking about earlier. Didn't really peg you for the bar crawling types." Sakura muses aloud.

Kisame runs a tired hand over his face, stretching the skin around his eyes.

"Believe me, I don't want to be here, but we're searching for a certain someone and it's been passed along to us that this is one of his most frequented hangouts. Though to be honest, I think tonight is looking like a bust."

"We'll be sure to bring it up at the next meeting, yeah."

Sakura swivels around in her seat to find the grinning long-haired Akatsuki that she's more than once had to question Ino about for confirmation of unrelatedness. Behind him, she catches sight of the shorter redhead with eyes too infuriatingly pretty for a man to possess.

"Deidara. Sasori," Sakura greets with a nod, bringing her bottle to her lips for something to do. This isn't exactly a cozy situation with so many Akatsuki gathering around. Even at the best of times she's always been a bit weary of them, what with all the tales Sasuke and Naruto have informed her of since they were in middle school. She doesn't know if even half of it is true, but even if a fraction of it _is_ , she definitely doesn't want to be on these peoples' bad side.

"Well now, didn't expect something like that to suit your tastes," Deidara hums, his one uncovered eye fixed on the bottle resting between Sakura's hands, "I pictured you as more of a…Goldschlager type, yeah."

Sakura grimaces in revulsion, "Believe me, that's already been said and done tonight."

Deidara chuckles, covertly taking in the appearance of the young woman before him, noting the typical attire all the girls her age tend to don when going out to places like this. But Sakura doesn't appear to be in the club-going mood, especially not sitting all on her own with a drink that decidedly doesn't fit into the category of dainty cocktails.

"Well, you be careful, kiddo," Kisame advises jovially, patting Sakura on the head much to her disgruntlement, "Watch your drink. Don't walk home alone. All that rigmarole. There are a lot of vile types out there who'd love to take advantage of a sweet, young girl if they see the opportunity."

Patting her hair back into place with a displeased expression at having been so ruffled, Sakura catches Sasori's droll mutter that it looks like one such type is headed over here now.

Sakura understands what he means a second later as Hidan none too gently pushes his way toward his crew and Sakura, a smirk on his face that has creepy tingles racing up Sakura's spine. The guy really needs to work on looking less like a homicidal maniac…Then again, if some of the stories are true…

"I remember you!" he announces, intense violet eyes lighting up in recognition at Sakura's huddled form, her back pressing into the bar as he draws closer, "You're the little hot piece of ass that bandaged up my hand."

Sakura's eyebrow twitches, recalling the incident around half a year ago when she had been at the student gym and heard the wailing cries of a man caught between promising every foul form of punishment his small mind could come up with, and using every profanity under the sun to cow the man he had tripped over on the basketball court.

And all over what?

A minor sprained wrist.

Sasuke, Naruto, and some of the Akatsuki had been playing on the court and when they spotted Sakura passing by on her way to the weights, they hurriedly dragged her over to do damage control. If the staff caught Hidan (and the rest of them by association) causing such a ruckus one more time, they'd likely all be thrown out for good.

So, Sakura being the benevolent soul that she is, stopped to help, enduring countless vulgarities and lewd comments. It's an incident she never wants to repeat again.

"H-Hi," Sakura squeaks out, inwardly slapping herself for sounding so meek. That's not the kind of image one should create when facing off with a predator like Hidan.

"Do you have to be so crude?" Sasori sighs disgustedly, earning a sneer from Hidan.

"Watch it, pansy ass. Just because you and blondie here have something going on the fucking side over your artsy shit, doesn't mean the rest of us hot-blooded males are going to sit around like pussies when we see a hot bitch."

Sakura has to put considerable effort into not facepalming at that little diatribe.

 _Could he be anymore absurdly revolting?_

"What the hell, man! What the fuck are you implying, yeah?" Deidara's anger is tangible as he takes a step toward the offending loudmouth of their group, making Sakura wish she could quietly slink away unnoticed to avoid the splash zone. She really doesn't want to wash blood out of her clothes tomorrow.

"You heard me, you little bitch. You look like a fucking woman. It's no wonder you got puppet boy over here confused," Hidan baits, crossing his arms in enjoyment as he watches the younger male implode before him, forcing Kisame to step in as peacemaker and restrainer.

"I think I'm going to, uh, go," Sakura says to no one in particular, snagging her drink and sliding off the stool.

"That'd probably be wisest," Sasori agrees blandly, wishing he could do much the same.

Just as she moves past him however, he stops her with what is intended to only be a message, but sounds like more of a warning when Sakura puts it into context.

"Sakura, Itachi is looking for you. There's something he said he wanted to discuss with you."

Sakura hesitates for a moment, knowing she's just wasting precious seconds to escape the impending brawl that is likely to draw the attention of said Uchiha over to this vicinity if he's not already on his way.

"Do you know what about?"

Sasori shrugs noncommittally, "Uchihas feel the need to be importantly secretive. My guess is it has something to do with his little brat of a brother."

 _Uuggghhh. So do all of the Akatsuki know about this?_

But Sakura is too embarrassed to ask for clarification.

Looking her straight in the eyes, Sasori retains his usual stoic expression, but there is something slightly warmer about the way he speaks and Sakura is nearly startled out of her skin to feel the soft brush of his fingers skimming across her cheek with a whisper-like tickle.

"You shouldn't let him have so much of an effect on you. It dims your beauty."

Sakura doesn't know how to react to that, stammering out something barely comprehensible as she takes her leave, citing reasons like needing to find her friends and she has an early day tomorrow.

* * *

" _If you wanted me you would just say so.  
And if I were you, I would never let me go."_

* * *

Scratching absentmindedly at her cheek, Sakura decides her first course of action will be to track down Temari since she's the only one she has a fairly good guess as to where she'll be. Sakura follows the flow of people bottlenecking through the door to the outside patio area which is really little more than a fenced in rectangle of concrete, a few picnic tables, and some neon signs advertising the brands offered on tap.

The air is thick and mixed with the scents of fifty-some different cigarettes and Sakura can't help the reflex to cough a little at first as she tries to adjust to the reduction in air quality. Yet, her eyes do not catch hide or hair of her housemate nor her secretly not so secret crush. Pulling out her phone, Sakura sighs dejectedly at the lack of responses to the queries she had put forth from the bathroom earlier, but she does open another text from _him_.

' _Stop acting like a child. Just tell me where you are.'_

Mouth closed to dampen the sound, Sakura all but growls at the words, not even deigning them worthy of a response. She'll let him stew the rest of the night. Just like he made her do _that_ night. Hell, maybe she won't even respond tomorrow. Or the day after that. Or the rest of her life.

Maybe Sasuke Uchiha is done being a permanent fixture in her life. Maybe it's time she does some spring cleaning despite the current season.

 _Hell yeah._

"Sakura."

 _Fuck no._

Inwardly groaning, Sakura turns around to meet the more subdued of the Uchiha brothers.

"Itachi," she acknowledges calmly, trying her best to appear as though she is completely unaware of what it is he might have to say to her. Maybe he'd catch the hint and play along.

"We need to speak about Sasuke."

 _Or maybe not. Fucking prodigy my ass._

"I'd really rather not," Sakura replies with fake sweetness, attempting to maneuver around the man blocking her path, but her reflexes are markedly sluggish thanks to the alcohol burning in her system.

"I really think we should," Itachi replies evenly, not one to be dismissed, "And I really think we'd have a better conversation if we removed this from the equation," he further comments, plucking the beer bottle from Sakura's hand before she even knows what he is referring to.

"Hey! I paid for that!" Sakura complains, stretching her arms out for the bottle kept infuriatingly just out of reach thanks to their damnable differences in height.

But Itachi ignores her bitter protests, chucking the half-finished beer in the trashcan.

"That is such a waste, Uchiha!" Sakura stamps her foot, surprised at how ridiculously upset she is over the matter. Just who the hell does he think he is?

"I'll compensate you," he breezily replies, earning him a seething look from the short girl who's eyeing the trashcan as though entertaining the idea she may just be able to salvage her lost purchase.

"I don't want your money," Sakura gripes heatedly, "I just want you to leave me alone!"

Itachi nods consolingly, something that only spikes Sakura's ire.

"First, we must talk. Come with me," he takes her arm, "There's no sense polluting our lungs out here any longer."

Sakura inwardly uses every cussword she's picked up from Naruto (and a few from Hidan) to peg the Uchiha with as she's led through the door and to the steps of the staircase leading to the upper balcony inside the building. It's an area reserved for private groups that normally don't include the typical drunken frat boys and girls like Sakura who don't have that much cash to waste.

 _Typical Uchiha._

But Sakura's silent defamation of the family name is put on hold when she feels a very flagrant and very unwanted hand grab a palm full of her rear end as she sullenly climbs the stairs alongside Itachi.

"Hey!" she snarls, raising a hand that –

Is completely unnecessary as she watches Itachi snatch a fistful of the man's collar to bodily send him tumbling down the stairs thanks to the force of the throw, gravity, and the man's less than coordinated state of mind.

Sakura shakes her head, not quite feeling enough gratitude to thank Itachi out loud, but nonetheless appreciating the gesture.

Itachi motions her on ahead of him to ward off any others feeling stupid enough to risk a grab at her, a precaution that Sakura deems completely unnecessary after that little display. A the top of the staircase, Itachi flashes the red band around his wrist to the bouncer who motions them past the black velvet rope and onto the overlooking balcony of the dance floor where Sakura has already spent most of her night.

From here, the air is a little fresher and a little cooler thanks to the lack of body heat. The floor is carpeted, saving Sakura a little energy by not having to forcefully yank her feet up with every step she takes. Itachi leads her to the far side of the balcony, permitting them a lengthwise view right down the middle of the main floor. The lighting is dimmed up here, but lacking in the chaotic whirl of frantically changing colors, something Sakura's exhausted mind is immensely relieved by.

As they lean against the railing overlooking everyone down below, Sakura's patience dwindles by the second as Itachi refuses to speak up.

 _What the hell is he waiting for? I didn't even want to have this conversation in the first place._

Finally snapping, Sakura decides to cut to the chase, "Look, I don't know what you expect to be resolved from this little talk, if you're here on Sasuke's behalf, or acting on your own volition to speak up for him, but whatever you have to say isn't going to change anything," Sakura continues on stubbornly as Itachi's expression remains closed off and passive, "I don't want to hear you sticking up for him. I know he's your brother and all, I get it, I do, but your brother is an ass," Sakura states, ears going red at the tips from saying this so blatantly in the face of Sasuke's big brother, "He is. And I'm tired of not being a priority in his life."

"Yes, my brother can be…difficult, as you say," Itachi agrees lightly, "But I'm not here on Sasuke's behalf to do damage control for him. I've heard his side of things, what little he was willing to divulge. Now I'm here for you. To hear what you have to say."

Sakura sighs, more than irked that Itachi seems to feel entitled to knowing whatever happens between her and his little brother, but slightly impressed that he would even bother to get her side of the story. It's not something that she would expect from the doting big brother type Itachi so easily falls into.

"It's like there's not much to tell at the same time there is enough to write a book from every single interaction Sasuke and I have had since we started dating. Yet, it all amounts to nothing. Not a single thing," Sakura emphasizes bitterly, unzipping her wristlet carelessly to retrieve her phone, the other contents falling to the floor as she yanks it out.

Sakura curses grumpily, clumsily trying to kneel down in her skirt that offers little in the way of modesty in such positions. Itachi leans down to help as well, frowning when his hand reaches out to pick up the pack of cigarettes.

Sakura looks up to meet Itachi's disapproving gaze, only to scoff at his assumptive attitude.

"Oh, get off your high horse, Itachi. I'm just holding onto them for Shikamaru."

Quickly, her fingers scrabble for the lighter and her tube of lip gloss before she turns from the railing to take a seat on one of the backless lounge sofas to sort through her belongings and ensure nothing had been lost in a fit of typical clumsiness.

Surprisingly, Itachi follows to claim his own seat next to her, watching the light catch on the sparkling gold paint Sakura had coated her fingernails in earlier in the day. When Sakura finishes, holding out a hand to reclaim the cigarettes, Itachi sets them down on his other side away from Sakura's reach.

"You still haven't told me what happened."

Sakura crosses her legs, leaning back on her wrists to fix the annoying Uchiha with a glare.

"Look, let's keep this brief. Your brother and I are done. Not that I can really say it felt like we were dating for the year we were technically together… He put other people and other things before me whenever he had the chance. This last time was the last straw. It should have happened much sooner," she finishes, looking down and away, unaware of her thumb absentmindedly rolling the sparkwheel on the lighter, igniting a small flame that she sees but doesn't comprehend the danger of.

"You no longer care for my brother?"

Sakura teases the fingers of her free hand over the flame, as she contemplates an answer.

 _Do I?_

Sakura laughs self-deprecatingly, "I don't know if that's even the question that needs asking. What does it matter how I feel when I know he never cared for me? Did you know," she asks, without lifting her captivated gaze from the small flicker of light, "That in our entire year-long relationship, Sasuke only kissed me once?"

Itachi doesn't comment on this and the many memories of Sasuke's scornful attitude has her plunging on.

"Only on New Year's when a big group of us were at Naruto's place to celebrate. And it's not like it was his idea. Naruto and Suigetsu were mocking him about it when he didn't do anything."

Sakura's thumb lifts from the sparkwheel, extinguishing the feeble light.

"Pretty pathetic, huh?"

Still, she can't bear to meet Itachi's eyes. This doesn't even feel real to her, discussing this with him in the private, roped off area of a club at nearly 1:00 a.m. with a living sea of bobbing heads down below and the pulse of electronic swing music humming through her bones.

"It is," Itachi agrees, and it's like a slap of frigid water to Sakura's face. It's exactly what she wants to hear and exactly what she's been dreading.

 _I am pathetic._

"It's really pathetic that my little brother was so blind to the wonderful gift he was blessed with."

Stunned, Sakura's head snaps up, lighter clattering to the floor.

"What?" she asks, brow furrowing in confusion.

Itachi's gaze is steady as he reaches out to brush back the stray hair hanging in Sakura's eyes and Sakura, disbelieving, holds perfectly still.

 _What is this?_

"You are something special, Sakura. I'm not here to stick up for my brother's behavior; on the contrary, I am disappointed in him. But I am sorry he made you feel less than what you are."

"Itachi? Y-You don't have to apologize for him," Sakura begins awkwardly, not knowing how to respond to such an open, bare-faced statement, especially not when it's coming from the lips of Itachi Uchiha of all people.

 _What all did I have to drink tonight?_

Surely none of this can be real.

Itachi shakes his head slowly, "No, I suppose I don't. But regardless, I am."

Itachi rises to his feet, offering a hand to Sakura to assist her onto a pair of leaden, useless legs that seem to have forgotten how to move.

 _I need to get home before I do anything stupid._

"Sasuke will one day grow to regret his mistake," Itachi states casually, "I, however, will be forever grateful that he made it."

Sakura wants to ask what he means by this, wants to tell him that it's a little rude to say he's glad Sasuke hurt her the way that he did, but she never has the opportunity. And that is because Itachi allows her no time to form a single syllable before his mouth presses gently to hers in a way Sakura's first kiss could never compare.

Sasuke had been like a petulant child being forced to kiss his grandmother, with puckered lips barely making contact with Sakura's own before retreating to a safe distance. It had been over and done with in less than a blink of the eye, leaving Sakura stunned with an uncomfortable, disenchanted emptiness sitting heavy in the pit of her gut, begging for a do-over, begging for the chance to wipe the slate clean of that lackluster kiss and show Sasuke what it should really be like between them.

Now, she is equally stunned, but on the entire opposite end of the spectrum.

This is what finding your equal feels like. From the way Itachi's head bends down to the way Sakura's has to lift up, from the way his lips tingle with warmth and the desire to actually be doing what he's doing, to the way his palm cups the side of Sakura's face before slowly, and lingeringly breaking contact.

That was the do-over she wanted.

But never in all of her fantasies had she envisioned Itachi sharing it with her.

"You – I – I – " Sakura stutters, taking a step back to gain her bearings (and catch her breath), throwing a hand to her head.

"You seem surprised," Itachi chuckles, hands reaching out to gently draw Sakura closer by the hips, resting there once satisfied with her proximity.

"It's – it's – well, yeah!" Sakura blurts, fingers combing agitatedly through her bangs, "I mean, you're his _brother_! And you kissed me!" her voice is an accusation that has Itachi's eyes lighting up with mirth.

"I apologize if it was not to your liking," he replies as dispassionately as possible, but the slight quirk at the corner of his mouth is very telling to someone like Sakura who has dedicated years to cracking the code behind the dense, silent language of the Uchiha.

"Don't be so smug," Sakura huffs, flustered and thankful for the low lighting, "I'm just…surprised, is all."

 _More like shell-shocked._

"I want to be upfront with you now. I waited too long and thought I lost my chance. But know this: I will always make you a priority. You will be desired. You will be loved," he promises, kissing Sakura lightly on the forehead.

It's as though he had read the wish sewn into her heart. The wish she shared with no one. The wish that made her feel weak and vulnerable and small. The wish that Itachi is now using to tempt her with its fulfillment.

Sakura trembles for only a second, something she is certain Itachi can feel through his hands. Biting her bottom lip, Sakura's mind revs its engine, sorting through a mental dictionary for some suitable string of words.

Itachi is smart. Itachi is undeniably handsome. Itachi is older and better tempered than Sasuke. Yet, in all her years of pining after Sasuke, she had never considered his older brother. Why? Why had the possibility never crossed her mind? And what did it mean that it hadn't? What would it mean for her if she was to suddenly say exactly what Itachi seems to want to hear?

Would that make her just like Sasuke?

Would she be doing to him exactly what Sasuke had done to her?

These are the thoughts that form an icy-fingered vice that clamps stubbornly around Sakura's heart that feels as though it is straining to break free of her chest to join with Itachi's.

Just because it would feel right in the here and now doesn't mean it would in the long term. Sakura is hurting, she wants to be weak and take the first offering of love made to her. She wants to wear it like a protective shield.

She wants to.

But she doesn't.

Instead, she places her hands over Itachi's, squeezing them gently before lifting them away and holding them between their bodies.

"I need time to process this," she tells him earnestly, hoping he understands.

While she could never say she's witnessed an Uchiha visibly deflating, she supposes the slight exhale that has Itachi's shoulders lowering ever so marginally, is the closest she will ever know.

"That's fair," he responds, placing one chaste kiss across the knuckles of each of her hands before letting her free.

"I think I should find my friends now to go home," Sakura states faintly, as much to herself as to Itachi as she turns on her heel to seek the staircase down to the lower level.

Itachi remains with her, guiding her down the stairs with a warm palm pressed to her lower back that Sakura cannot claim is an unwanted sensation.

When they reach the first floor, little has changed since Sakura first trailed unwillingly behind Itachi's leading figure. She catches sight of some of the Akatsuki, though Hidan is not amongst them. Deidara, however, is either sporting a purple bruise across his high cheekbone, or is standing in a splash of lighting of such color. She can't tell for sure.

Itachi turns his back to his accomplices, sheltering Sakura from their view as his hands cup her shoulders.

"Will you be able to make it home?"

Sakura wants to snort at his concern, but refrains. It's a consideration she never received from Sasuke. But while she may not be on a level to match Ino when it comes to partying, this certainly isn't her first rodeo.

"Don't worry, once I catch up with my friends we'll call for a ride."

Itachi nods, "Let me know when you reach home."

"But I don't even have your number," Sakura raises a dubious eyebrow in question.

"You will in a moment."

Sakura nods in return before she's once again swept up in the dizzying lip lock that Itachi seems to be a perfectionist at – a thought that both worries her and peaks her curiosity.

"Good night, Sakura. Be safe."

And with that, Itachi departs for the rest of the Akatsuki who seem to have given up hope on whatever assignment originally brought them to Ino's choice of birthday venues. Sakura watches them exit the club, spots of colored light whizzing across her body as the DJ switches tracks and Sakura is left with the daunting task of tracking down the rest of her group.

Pulling out her phone, Sakura is relieved to find several texts waiting in her inbox for her attention. Opening Tenten and Hinata's numerous queries of where she had run off to and one from Naruto that simply read 'SAAAKKKUUUUURRRAAAAAA!', she's then left shaking her head at Ino's sloppy attempt at formulating a readable message, but manages to decipher 'hottie with the body' out of the mess she has to work with.

Quickly setting her fingers to work to reply back to Hinata's most recent text informing Sakura that they had all gathered outside in the smoking area, Sakura then pats her wristlet worriedly when she realizes she never retrieved Shikamaru's cigarettes.

 _Weeelll, hopefully he doesn't remember those._

She knows it's a slim chance to none when it comes to Shikamaru's nicotine fix.

Outside, her friends immediately jump on her arrival and Sakura practically staggers with the weight of both Tenten and Naruto clinging onto either side of her. Hinata appears to be at her limit with trying to restrain a nearly toppling over Ino from joining the dogpile on top of Sakura while Temari leans tiredly into Shikamaru's side. Shikamaru, Sakura notes with despair, looks decidedly sober and decidedly grumpy.

 _Uh oh._

But with the group all together, Hinata and Ino lead everyone outside to wait for the rides Hinata had submitted a request for on one of her many handy phone apps.

* * *

" _And I could leave the party without ever letting you know."_

* * *

When at last the three housemates topple into the entranceway of their shabby, but comfortable apartment, Sakura assists Ino in unstrapping the cumbersome, lethal weapons sheathing her feet before helping the blonde climb the stairs to collapse bonelessly into her bed. Temari decides to not even bother with the stairs and instead opts for the couch, dragging a folded up blanket across her body and calling it done.

Finished situating her friends and locking the door, Sakura enters her own room for the night to peel out of her clubbing attire for some loose, cotton pajamas. A ringing chime coming from her carelessly discarded wristlet has Sakura jumping in surprise before hastily retrieving her phone.

 _Sasuke…_

And for the first time in her life, Sakura easily hits the button to ignore his call, smiling to herself as she does so.

She can get through this.

Opening her messages, she finds one from a new number with the simple directive to text when she makes it home.

Smile brightening even more, Sakura sends a simple 'Made it. Goodnight, Itachi.'

Turning off the lights and clambering into bed and under her many blankets and plush covers, Sakura is startled once more by the _ping!_ of her phone just before her eyes can shut.

 _Good night, princess._

Sakura gasps in remembrance, hand reaching up to the tiara she had placed on her own head after Ino had foisted it off on her.

Glowing with contentment and the pull of sleep, Sakura sinks softly into slumber.

* * *

" _But your brother was a good substitute for you."_

* * *

The next day, Sakura is too preoccupied and neglects to answer the five text messages and two phone calls she receives from Sasuke. She couldn't exactly turn down the offer of breakfast when Itachi mentioned he'd be in the neighborhood.

Stabbing the last bite of pancake slathered in syrup and whipped cream, Sakura grins across the table to her company who watches her with a gentle smile and no shortage of amusement at just how much sugar she can easily consume. Sliding over to Itachi's side of the booth, Sakura raises her arm high, phone angled down on their upturned faces to snap a quick picture to commemorate the outing.

Lowering the phone to inspect her work, Sakura leans comfortably into Itachi's side to allow him to view the photo as well. Staring at the screen, Sakura feels both relief and heart-melting warmth pooling inside her.

At last, she has found an Uchiha who can smile back at her.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** **Uuugghh. I'm the worst. I really need to be giving some care and attention to** _ **Of Much Madness and Reason**_ **, but I also don't want to update it with some half-hearted attempt, so I'm waiting for further time and inspiration to really focus on it…that might not happen until Christmas break because I'm back in school again. Yaaayyyy. So, this was just some slice-of-life drama to get me back in the practice of writing. Inspiration drew heavily upon the following songs:**

" **Don't Let Me Down" – The Chainsmokers**

" **Gold" – Kiiara**

" **I Hate U I Love U" – Gnash**

" **Lone Digger" – Caravan Palace**

 **Check those out if you love music on while you read. A combination of all four really helps to set the tone for the story. I hope this was an enjoyable, short read and hopefully I'll get on task soon with my unfinished story.**

 **Reviews are excellent!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** **Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto.**

 **Rated T:** **Due to coarse language.**

* * *

" _Well my heart is gold, and my hands are cold."_

* * *

"You're doing what?!" Naruto sputters, the jerky reflex of a knee sending a cascade of papers spilling to the floor from his open-ringed binder.

"Naruto!" Sakura rebukes with exasperation, moving to save her own belongings from taking a similar tumble over the edge of the bed.

Still gaping, Naruto blindly reaches a hand out to save his sliding phone. He couldn't afford a third one this month.

"I know I probably need to clean out my ears 'cause you can't have seriously just said what I think you just said," Naruto says in awe, eyes wide.

Sakura's cheeks puff out, lips pursing as she releases a huff of breath that sends her bangs fluffing upward.

"Why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

"Why are you _not_?" Naruto returns quickly, kneeling on the floor to collect his things while Sakura self-consciously tucks her legs beneath her, suddenly regretting sharing the news with her long-time friend. This is the sort of talk more in Ino's area of expertise, but the other blonde is currently unavailable as she's taken to the gym in the week following her birthday celebrations. All of that indulgence really called for some self-care and detox.

"Look, I need to get going anyway. Let's meet up again Thursday to knock this problem set out of the way, 'k?"

Sakura smoothly directs attention away from the elephant stamping indignantly in the room and demanding notice. Sliding off of Naruto's bed, she toes her feet into her flats and swings her backpack over her shoulder in a practiced maneuver, leaving Naruto sitting in the middle of his dorm room's floor looking utterly lost amidst the scattered lecture notes and PowerPoint slides.

"Sakuuurrraaa-chaaaannn," he whines, greatly over-exaggerating his distress as he tilts his head back to demand for divine intervention from the cracked ceiling above.

Sakura ignores his pleas for help with little difficultly. It's only on her good graces that Naruto is even passing his physics class as she essentially completes his homework for him, having taken the class in a previous semester.

 _How he does on the tests is entirely up to him._

Besides, it's not as though she had just told him she was shaving her head, dropping out of school, and joining a nomadic band of cannibals. If that had been the case, she could easily see his cause for concern. But no.

She had only informed him that she was intending to go to the art festival being held downtown this weekend.

With Itachi.

Sakura sighs, a mix of anxiety tinged with a hint of excitement as she waits for the _ping!_ of the elevator to signal her transport has arrived.

Pulling out her phone to check how much time she had just invested in Naruto rather than her own mounting pile of homework, Sakura distractedly taps at her waiting texts, eyes widening as the small type sucks in her attention.

' _Alert! Alert! Devil is at the door. Stay away.'_

Sakura's mouth purses at the implication. It's code for Sasuke's new and unfortunate habit of dropping in at her apartment to catch her for a very unwanted conversation. Miraculously, all three times he's stopped by unannounced so far, he's either been intercepted by Temari and "persuaded" to leave, or Sakura has been truthfully out of the house. She can only imagine Temari's temper at encountering the Uchiha once again at their front door. Their stubborn, strong-willed personalities don't tend to mesh too well.

Typing back a quick thank you to her friend, Sakura ponders where to go as she steps into the elevator. Sasuke isn't one to debase himself and hang around waiting like a dog with his tail between his legs, but he can be doggedly persistent when there's something he wants.

And she's certain he doesn't want her. No, he just wants to know why his brother suddenly does.

Leaning against the mirrored interior of the elevator, Sakura acknowledges it's an answer she'd like to possess as well. Truly, it's a mystery as to why the elder Uchiha has suddenly been so forward in pursuing her. Could it really be that he'd just quietly been abiding his time in the background, longing for her, yet not wanting to interfere with his little brother's relationships?

The very idea makes Sakura snort out loud and she's thankful to be riding the elevator down to ground level alone with that unflattering outburst unleashed in the confined space.

It's preposterous. And yet, it seems to be exactly what has come about despite her careful treading of the situation. Since last week's breakfast outing, Itachi had been keeping up a daily, albeit short rapport with her through texting. The shortness of his messages doesn't come as a surprise to her – he has always been a man of few words – but the fact that any sort of conversation exists between them certainly has Sakura pinching herself from time-to-time just to ensure she's not in some dream world. She doesn't know whether to be completely dazzled by the prospect of someone like Itachi taking notice of her, or whether she should be going into hiding at the backlash such attention might come with.

Mainly in the form of Sasuke.

Because Sasuke had finally taken notice of Sakura's cold shoulder to all of his attempts at contacting her. It just wasn't reasonable that the girl that would text him every morning on her way to class and call him every night before bed would suddenly start avoiding him. Never mind that he had crushed what little self-esteem and dignity she had been scraping by on throughout their year-long relationship. No, she wouldn't just quit him cold-turkey.

Sakura mentally sticks her tongue out at the very idea of Sasuke confidently waiting around for her to come crawling back to him. She hopes it eats away at him with a slow burn that she's not acting in the way he expects her to.

 _There's a point at which every person breaks, Sasuke._

She had found hers.

Striding out of Naruto's dormitory and into the early evening, she slides her free arm into the other strap of her backpack, preparing to make the fifteen minute trek to her favorite coffee shop on campus. By the time she gets her order, she's confident Sasuke will have either been thoroughly berated by Temari to turn back from whence he came, or he'll eventually grow bored and irked enough to leave on his own.

Sakura smirks smugly to herself, daydreaming of Temari giving him an earful for all the neighbors to listen in on with hungry ears. He wouldn't like that, not one bit.

She knows that eventually she'll need to face him like an adult, but right now, she's feeling just a tad spiteful as a vindictive little voice inside her head tells her to give the Uchiha a taste of his own special brand of annoying medicine. Let him know what it's like to be ignored and forgotten. Surely, those were things he's never been familiarized with before.

Besides, he has Karin waiting to comfort him.

Sakura sniffs at the thought, but only partially with contempt because _Darn it!_ it still hurts.

Pushing thoughts of Sasuke aside with a frustrated mental shove, she nearly groans in exasperation as thoughts of the _other_ Uchiha quickly invade the vacated space. It seems she is cursed to have her head full of one Uchiha or the other.

With the sun just beginning to sink as the minutes tick ever closer to the time people begin to contemplate dinner, Sakura pulls open the door that leads into the warm, rich atmosphere of her favorite coffee shop. It's small, but comfortable. In about another week she knows the shop front will be decorated with wisps of spider webs and fat, rubber arachnids. But for now, she admires the gleam of the polished wooden counter and stainless steel espresso machine.

 _Java time, bitches!_

Of course, Sakura keeps such sentiments to herself as she sweetly places her order with the tired looking cashier dully ringing up purchases. As Sakura pays and moves off to the side to wait for her iced caramel macchiato, she idly wonders what the weekend temperatures will be like for the nighttime art festival. She wants to dress cute for her, er, _meet-up_ with Itachi.

"Sakura! Hey!"

Startled, one hand still pulling absentmindedly through her ruffled hair, Sakura catches the sharp blue gaze of a surprising acquaintance.

"O-Oh, hey," Sakura's tongue rolls over the greeting as though it were a question as she straightens her posture and works to fix a welcoming smile on her face for someone she's heard has a penchant for explosive violence.

Swallowing her nerves, trying to remember that nothing truly dangerous had happened the last time she crossed paths with the other members of Akatsuki, Sakura closes the distance to the fast-approaching blond.

"Still waiting, yeah?" Deidara asks, pointedly glancing down at Sakura's empty hands, but not waiting for the obvious answer, "This place is shit on getting things done quickly, but at least it's never full of those pretentious sorority girls on their phones. With the speaker on," Deidara huffs.

Sakura can sense a personal vendetta against such poor public etiquette and a small laugh escapes her before she can think better of it.

"I'd have figured you'd enjoy such pretty surroundings," Sakura jibes, referring to the primped and perfect collegiate girls.

"No substance on the inside," Deidara waves off the remark carelessly, "Completely artless."

 _Ino would not take kindly to such judgement._

But Sakura prudently keeps her lips sealed.

As he turns forward to share in her expectant watch of her order being prepared, Sakura is left open and vulnerable to his next statement, imparted in a considerably lower tone of voice.

"You should know that I'm not exactly here for the stellar coffee this hole in the wall boasts about, yeah," Deidara begins, eyes glancing down at the shorter woman to his side who peers dubiously back at him.

"Itachi wants you looked after, when at all possible," Deidara continues, eyes flicking away to cast a lazy perusal of the cramped room with its handful of lounging occupants, "You've been marked by him as someone important. You should know that, yeah."

"Wh-What – "

"Sakura!"

Sakura is left blinking and confused as the barista barks her name, sliding her drink forward across the counter. She is too slow to react and Deidara strides forward to the bar, claiming the order and returning swiftly to the pink-haired girl left standing dumbly in front of the large bay window.

As he presses the chilled beverage into her slack hands, he has to admit that the Uchiha has good taste, even if he would never pay the man such a compliment – even on pain of death.

"I don't understand," Sakura finally finds her voice, "You're looking out for me? Why?"

"Honestly, it's a little early to be concerned on anyone picking up on your connection with him, but Itachi has always been an overly cautious shit," Deidara shrugs, "But once people begin to see the two of you together more frequently, talk will start, and that talk will eventually and _always_ end up finding its way to the ears of someone you'd rather it _not_ , yeah," he explains softly.

At the call of a name decidedly not his own, Deidara picks up a steaming cup of something smelling rich and roasted before returning to a befuddled Sakura waiting expectantly for answers from him. Internally he sighs, cursing Sasori for leaving him with tailing duty for the day. It had all been rather boring to the point he broke protocol and decided to make conversation with the subject of his unwanted guard duty. It would likely be an action that would lead to him getting sorely chewed out later, but he figured the girl had a right to know her admirer – and he really didn't know what to make of Itachi's sudden pursuit of Sakura – was keeping tabs on her for safety reasons, welcomed or no.

"So," Sakura begins uncertainly, "You've been following me all day in case someone else was following me? Because Itachi asked you to?"

At his nod, Sakura's eyebrows pinch together.

"That's just creepy."

Sweeping a tired hand over his bangs, Deidara decides that this may have been a lot more trouble than originally estimated.

"Look, yeah, as you may already be aware, we're kind of well-known."

There was no need to specify who the "we" was.

"We do some…things that are a bit outside the bounds of the law and – "

"And I don't want to know," Sakura interrupts in a hushed voice, holding a hand up to ward off any forthcoming information.

"Smart girl, yeah," Deidara grins, guiding her out of the coffee shop. The chime-like tingling of the bell over the doorway pricks at Sakura's ears.

"And people, some very bad people, mind you, would love to do anything that might hurt us. It's all well and good for us to go about our lives as we please and take chances being seen out in public, alone and unprotected, but Itachi isn't about to risk your safety."

Sakura wonders what that could mean for the rest of the people Itachi would care about. Did someone watch over Sasuke? His parents?

Not to mention, she isn't about to try and clarify that she does not, in fact, think she feels so comfortable with her permanent and significant standing in the Uchiha's eyes.

It's not as though she and Itachi are dating…Right?

 _Oh fuck. He's taking this way more seriously than I thought he would._

As they round a corner that takes them to a slightly less shop-infested side street and into the beginnings of the off-campus housing, the first worms of anxiety begin to wriggle in Sakura's belly. She may have bitten off more than she could chew that day she accepted Itachi's invitation to breakfast.

This is all too much, too soon.

Deidara, seemingly unaware of the impending freak-out coalescing within her, sips calmly at his coffee before adding, "And of course Itachi is concerned with his little brat of a brother's reaction. He's such a little twat showing up at your doorstep every day to harass you, yeah," he snorts derisively.

"Yeah, I need to have a word with him," Sakura replies demurely, too shell-shocked to comment on the rest of everything she's trying to process. And here she thought it was just going to be another usual night of dinner, movies, and homework with her roommates.

 _I wish._

Deidara raises an eyebrow at this, but doesn't raise any objection or even comment on the dutiful tone with which she speaks of such an unsavory task. He knows firsthand how frustrating the older Uchiha can be; he can only guess at how much of a prick the entitled little brother is.

As Sakura slows noticeably in her walk, Deidara is stirred from his musings of setting both Uchihas on fire and ridding himself of many future headaches when Sakura's question pierces through his cloud of fantasy.

"Are you walking me all the way home?"

It's the tricky call of being an Akatsuki and interacting in a frequently personal capacity with those not involved with the organization. Deciding whether to assign someone to tail them from the shadows or making an open show that someone is under the Akatsuki's protection is a judgement call – and this particular situation is not one that Deidara had intended to be making decisions about. Especially not if he makes the wrong decision that could bring about the wrath of one particularly cruel bastard. Not that Deidara is actually scared of him or anything…

Making up his mind as they approach an intersection in an exclusively residential sector, Deidara smirks down at the girl awaiting his response and bestows her with a familiar smirk.

"If you could only be so lucky, yeah."

Boldly, he leans forward to place a chaste kiss on her cheek and turns left, knowing Sakura's path has her continuing straight ahead. Without glancing back at her stunned expression, he throws up a flippant hand in a gesture of good-bye.

"Be sure to check out my work at the art festival!"

Sakura shakes her head at the abrupt departure and the strange turn her evening has taken. She treks the rest of the walk home alone, unaware of the stealthy follower that keeps a concealed and parallel route to her own.

Deidara always finishes his job if nothing else.

* * *

" _Oh, she don't see the light that's shining  
Deeper than the eyes can find it  
Maybe we have made her blind."_

* * *

"Took a whole twenty minutes this time," Temari's frustration is bright and fierce in her near growl, "And that was after I finally gave up and slammed the door in his face"

Sasuke is turning into a real nuisance.

The only thing Sakura has to be thankful of on the Sasuke front is that she doesn't share a single class with him this semester – a truth that deflated her mood at the beginning of the semester, but now finds her grateful for their very different interests.

Sakura pats her friend on the shoulder and quickly offers to take tonight's clean-up duty off her hands in thanks. Appeased by this, Temari leans back in her chair as Sakura starts to clear the table. It's impossible for the three of them to stick to the same meal schedule on a day-to-day basis, but Ino had insisted they make an attempt at it at least a couple times a week. Said pig-girl is already occupying the living room, fluffing up the couch cushions and sorting through the DVDs scattered across the rug.

Sakura has tried one too many times to reason with Ino that the DVDs are just a waste of time. The girls inevitably always turn to Sakura's Netflix account for something to watch.

Scraping the remnants of dinner from their plates before taking them to the sink for rinsing, Sakura voices the thoughts plaguing her mind.

"I think it's about time I have a talk with Sasuke. I can't let this continue much longer."

"Truth," Temari agrees, a smirk spreading her lips, "And I want a play-by-play of when you put Ass-ke in his place."

A hiccup of a laugh bubbles forth from Sakura at the mention of Temari's newly preferred nickname for Sasuke.

"You've earned it," Sakura acknowledges, stowing the rinsed plates in the dishwasher before grabbing the disinfectant spray to wipe down the counters. It's a step in the cleaning process that her roommates tend to skip over. As she turns to attack the kitchen table her friend is still seated at, Temari's mood notably shifts as she catches Sakura's eyes.

"You need to be careful with that guy, Sakura," her eyes slide away, apparently in thought, "Both of them, really," she amends.

Sakura's repetitive wax on, wax off motion over the tabletop barely falters before she replies with a quiet, "I know."

She's not ready to reflect too deeply on the repercussions of her involvement with either of the Uchiha brothers. Either side of the coin has its own set of sticky consequences.

Sasuke is someone she's known since the early days of elementary school when the two were sorted into the same class. Over the years, he had grown from a cocky, proud little boy to a stoic, confident young man. And one glaring personality trait that had never dissipated over all their years together was Sasuke's unfortunately foul temper when he didn't get his way.

And then there was Itachi. Calm, quiet, older Itachi who had always been a prominent fixture in Sasuke's life, but had previously been delegated to a more peripheral role in Sakura's. Her perception of Itachi is fairly shallow, but if she's honest with herself, she truly likes what little she knows of him. Though his involvement in Akatsuki leaves a big question mark lingering over what kind of future the two could even have together. A _very_ big question mark.

And still, what of Sasuke? Sure, she's still fizzling with anger and humiliation over his treatment of her, but had everything she ever felt for him just up and disappeared? She isn't certain on that one either.

"Hey, Ino doesn't know about all of his surprise visits, does she?" Sakura mutters lowly, eyes darting to the living room where she can just barely steal a glimpse of the back of said roommate's head.

"I haven't mentioned it to her," Temari returns slowly in an equally quiet tone for which Sakura is thankful.

"Good. Don't."

At Temari's puzzled expression, Sakura elaborates, "You know how she'll react. I'm already in a big enough mess, no need to pile on more drama."

Sakura knows she'll eventually need to open up more to Ino about her break-up with Sasuke, but the anger is still a bit too raw to add Ino's own special brand of self-righteous fury into the mix. She doesn't need a vengeful Ino egging her on to claim some form of retribution from her ex.

"Alight," Temari relents with a sigh, unable to take Sakura's pleading eyes any longer, "But you really do need to do something about him. My next move is to call the cops if he's going to keep me from my evening meditation."

Sakura fights to keep a straight face at the mention of Temari's newfound interest – a hobby she just so happens to know was picked up from a certain lazy genius. However, Temari hasn't known Shikamaru nearly as long as Sakura has, and Sakura isn't about to reveal that meditation is just Shikamaru's cover for taking impromptu naps.

With that, Temari stands and stretches her back before retiring to the living room, leaving Sakura to finish her clean-up routine.

Sighing as she flicks off the kitchen light and joins her friends in the living room where Ino has shoved the DVDs away and is already scrolling through the genre categories on Netflix, Sakura decides to similarly shove the Uchihas out of her mind, if not from her heart.

Taking out her handy, ever-growing stack of homemade flashcards, Sakura expertly shuffles the deck before thrusting the entire stack in Ino's face.

"Quiz me."

"Bitch. Check my calculus," Ino replies, eyes glued to the TV screen as she refuses to accept the cards without promise of payment.

"Done."

"Done," Ino's blue eyes crinkle in happy triumph as she tosses the remote into Temari's unsuspecting lap.

* * *

" _Are you deranged like me? Are you strange like me?  
Lighting matches just to swallow up the flame like me?  
Do you call yourself a fucking hurricane like me?  
Pointing fingers 'cause you'll never take the blame like me?"_

* * *

"Freaking library. Ordered by the Dewey Decimal System my ass," Sakura grumbles under her breath so as not to be overheard by the small cluster of students dutifully pouring over their literature sources at a nearby table (or browsing cute puppy videos in the case of one girl).

Though if the work-study students employed through the library happen to overhear her mutterings, she wouldn't mind in the slightest. The boy that Sakura had tried to acquire clear directions from had been less than helpful, leading her to travel down several rows of bookshelves in the general direction he had indicated.

It was only by sheer luck that her eyes had snagged on a few titles that seem to be drawing her closer to what she is actually looking for.

With further grumblings of "not worth the minimum wage" and "stupid tetrapods" and even the unique "I'm just going to grow a tail and be a mermaid when I grow up," Sakura slows her travels through the closely packed stacks of books. The lighting is unfortunately dim in this section of the library where the books are well insulated from any of the natural light streaming in through the windows on the tenth floor of the library tower.

Sakura has been tasked with the assignment of reporting on an evolutionary feature she finds particularly fascinating. In truth, she realizes it's more of a busy assignment that will likely only be skimmed over (if that) by the harried teaching assistant for her biology lab, but let it never be said that Sakura Haruno turns in half-assed work.

And with pride propelling her onward, she continues to scan the titles of books that clearly have not been pulled from their dusty encampments in quite some time.

This will be the most amazing report on the mobility of lungfish ever written or so help that useless dimwit at the help desk…

"Sakura."

Caught in her rather colorful imaginings of toppling over all the shelves onto said useless dimwit, Sakura's ears twitch at the voice, wondering if that cold annunciation of her name was merely a product of her daydreams too. Surely, she wouldn't stumble across him here within the musty confines of the library's tenth floor. Hardly anyone ventures to this place so far from the floor-level snack shop and without the boast of the skyline view of the top floor. This is a place somewhere in the middle, forgotten and unused. Why would he go here?

Clenching her jaw, Sakura's hand drops from the spine of the book she was checking out for confirmation of its call number and turns to face the figure waiting for her attention at the end of the row of books she has yet to venture down.

Something in her, old and animalistic, raises its hackles in warning of the young man leisurely closing the distance between them, strolling forward in his customary way with his hands in his pockets.

"Sasuke," she greets, forcing down the temptation to take a step back.

"You've been ignoring me."

His face is slack of nearly any emotion. All that registers across his countenance is chilly indifference, but Sakura knows that can change in a fraction of a second if she triggers his temper.

"Glad you understand that much," she sniffs in contempt. To hell with it, she wants to push his buttons.

Sasuke scowls and she internally damns him for his pretty-boy good looks that don't lose any of their power despite the ugly expression.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura presses, crossing her arms "Tired of waiting on my doorstep?"

 _Bet that got him_ Sakura inwardly congratulates herself.

"Tch. Stop being a child. We need – "

"Ooohh, so there's a 'we' now, is there?" Sakura widens her eyes in false surprise, ignoring the deepening of Sasuke's frown at being cut off, "I was under the impression we're two separate entities, much like we were for that year-long excuse of a relationship we were in!" Sakura hisses, well-ingrained manners forcing her voice to sustain low, hushed tones.

Sasuke has no such hesitancy over disturbing the peace and quiet enjoyed by the rest of the library. She knows his voice is relatively raised in comparison to hers not because he wishes to draw the unwanted attention of the nosy public, but because he couldn't care less about bothering them. If they are bothered, they should be the ones to move elsewhere, not him.

"What have you done with Itachi?"

Sakura can't help the short bark of laughter that causes Sasuke's dark eyes to narrow. He makes it sound like she's some beastly dragon that's captured a dainty Itachi to hold prisoner.

Now finding the humor in this absurd situation, Sakura places a hand on her hip, ready to let Sasuke have it.

"Please. As if I could make Itachi interested in something he didn't already have an interest in," Sakura's lips curl into a grim smirk, "He's much like you in that regard, isn't he?"

Sasuke's eyes burn and Sakura wonders if perhaps she's overstepped her bounds.

"No, Sakura," Sasuke begins, his voice scarily calm, in stark contrast with the danger practically boiling off his skin as he steps forward, "You misunderstand. I asked what have you done _with him_."

Sakura's eyes widen in shock at his meaning, unconsciously allowing herself to take a step back, barely registering the bump of her hip bone into the nearest bookshelf.

"What do you even care?" Sakura asks, her voice transparent and void of her earlier false bravado. She's genuinely confused, maybe even a little nervous at this newfound interest Sasuke has in her.

She can feel his breath fan across her lips as his face leers ever closer to her own.

"I have a right to know when he's laid a hand on what's mine."

Sakura doesn't miss the glint of decision that sparks through Sasuke's shadow-shrouded gaze. In one moment she's opening her mouth to protest and in the next she's shutting it at the press of cold, soft lips across her own.

It's…mind-boggling.

 _What the hell is this?_

Memories of an all but forced New Year's Eve kiss flash through her mind. The disappointment that lingered on her still mostly glossed lips from that brief second of contact and the surprised whoops that broke out around them in celebration despite her insides turning to quivering Jell-O at the realization of how much Sasuke hadn't wanted to do it.

This is nothing like that moment. This is…

 _Like Itachi._

It's so different and so unexpected that she doesn't put a stop to it. At the sensation of Sasuke's fingers splayed across her hip, she may have even reciprocated for a moment.

But something tears in her mind. A warning that this isn't right. That this will only lead to more pain, more regret, more destruction of the fragile remains of her taped together dignity.

That is what Sasuke gives her.

Sakura pulls away, a difficult feat as she finds herself leaning into the hard edges of the line of books at her back.

"What the _hell_ , Sasuke."

She wants it to sound like an accusation, but even to her ears it's little more than a breathy, disbelieving whisper.

"I won't let him have you."

It's a declaration, of exactly what she doesn't know, or if even Sasuke knows himself. But she relishes the flame of ire that rises within her at his words.

"I'm not something to _have_ ," she hisses quietly, shrugging out of his surprisingly light hold and stepping to the side. Sasuke turns to match her movements, and she catches the old and familiar anger fighting to be unleashed, but it merely manifests in a derisive frown.

"I don't understand where any of this is coming from all of a sudden," Sakura implores for him to see the absurdity of this entire mess from her perspective, her arms fluttering in the air before falling listlessly back to her sides.

If Sakura is frazzled, Sasuke sounds even more sure of himself as he replies, "There is nothing sudden about this."

A snort of air is expelled through Sakura's nose as she lightly stomps her foot.

"Don't give me that!" she jabs a finger with surprising strength into Sasuke's chest, "Where was any of this the past year, huh?" she asks, gesturing to the space in front of the books where the two had just been sneaking a public lip lock that Sakura had only envisioned in her most secret fantasies.

She hates the heat she can feel rising to her cheeks, hates the way Sasuke's eyes alight on it knowingly and the small upward quirk of his mouth.

"And what about Karin?" Sakura's eyes narrow dangerously as she grasps onto something concrete that is sure to stoke the flames of her self-righteous anger.

"What about her?" Sasuke's eyes narrow though his tone remains careless.

"Don't play dumb with me," Sakura punctuates her sentence with a second poke of her finger, "She's been working to come between us since the very beginning! And you let her!" she adds, turning on her heel to stomp down the aisle from whence she came.

Sasuke sighs, trekking after the pink-haired girl moving away from him and grabs her hand which she yanks away to free herself, but only succeeds in drawing him closer to her.

"Karin is nothing to me. Maybe a friend. But hardly even that," Sasuke explains, and Sakura can read the impatience laced through every fiber of his being as though he has a right to be exasperated with her.

"You sure have a funny way of showing it," Sakura turns her nose up at him, this time successfully pulling her hand free of his hold as she continues to the elevator with Sasuke hot on her heels.

Deciding she'd rather not be stuck in a confined space with her current antagonizer, Sakura makes an abrupt change of direction for the stairwell, heaving it open with both arms and not waiting to see if Sasuke manages to catch it without the door smacking into his pretty, annoying face.

 _It would serve him right._

But the clatter of his footsteps doggedly following her crushes that wish and she quickly continues downward, not daring to spare a glance behind her shoulder as he hollers at her to stop.

"No," she bites out, "You know what, I don't care what's going on with you now, but I'd say it's just a typical, insignificant case of jealousy."

With her back turned to him, she doesn't catch the sneer that mars his face.

"That's right, Sasuke. This sudden interest in me is just a result of your jealousy over your brother suddenly wanting something you once had," and here Sakura does halt in her decent, swiveling on her heel to face Sasuke so suddenly that he nearly crashes into her.

"I'm not stupid enough to believe you actually want me back," Sakura spits, venom in her words, "You know what would happen if I went back to you? Other than the complete loss of my self-respect that is," she chuckles humorlessly, "You'd go back to being content, uninvolved Sasuke and I'd go back to being the pathetic mess that awaits any scrap of attention you carelessly fling my way."

Sakura huffs, disgusted with herself at the image she once painted and turns to resume the descent at a more moderate pace now that she's said her piece.

"And you know what?" she asks without stopping, knowing that Sasuke has slowed his pursuit after her, but has yet to give up, "I'm not going to let that happen."

She doesn't expect Sasuke to respond to that, so her heart beats erratically when he throws off her safely assumed presumptions about him.

"Me neither."

But she doesn't rise to the bait, nor do her footsteps falter as they glide down the stairs. She can no longer hear his footsteps following after her, but she can feel his eyes piercing into her back. She dares not look back at him lest his gaze stop her in her tracks.

Not able to stand another minute of the tense silence (save for her soft footfalls) or the eyes-on-the-back-of-her-head sensation as Sasuke lets her leave in peace, Sakura decides to escape his watch on the fifth floor landing. She'll find the elevator on this level and beat a hasty retreat. Sasuke can stay in that stairwell like an eerie specter for the rest of the night if he wants. She's not sticking around to stop him.

At last, after a short elevator ride and a brisk jaunt through the front lobby of the library packed with students and alive with their many conversations, Sakura bursts outside feeling as though she's just run a marathon. Her mind is exhausted and her legs feel weak enough to collapse under her own weight.

What is Sasuke doing?

What is Itachi doing?

What is she doing?

What are any of them doing in this screwed up, topsy-turvy mess she thoroughly blames on the boy roosting in the library stairwell?

Massaging her temples in a bid to stave off the headache brewing, she heads home at a slow, forced pace before one thought nearly has her freezing in her tracks in utter contempt and disbelief.

 _Damn it, Sasuke! I didn't get the book!_

The lungfish will have to wait for another day.

* * *

" _Love to watch you try and turn your back to me  
But I know that any minute you'll be back to me."_

* * *

"Inooooooo!" Sakura whines, pounding on the bathroom door with both fists in a desperate attempt to persuade her friend to allow her access to the bathroom, but the blonde is having none of it.

"Sorry, Sakura," an airy, feminine voice rises from somewhere behind the locked door, "The bathroom is only for friends who share in the details about their dates with tall, dark, mysterious men."

Sakura's head thumps against the wooden door.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Sakura mumbles in aggravation, before knocking her head back to let out an irritated, "Ino!"

But the blonde doesn't seem to hear her as she's well into her own diatribe that seeps through the bathroom door to Sakura's ears.

"And to think that you'd tell that Neanderthal, Naruto, before your own best gal pal about this. What did I ever do to you to deserve this?! I dress better than him, I eat something other than ramen three times a day, I'm properly toilet trained unlike him – "

Speaking of which, Sakura practically howls, "If you don't open this door right now, I'm peeing in your favorite pair of shoes. Don't think I don't have it in me, Ino-pig, because believe me, I do!" Sakura pounds on the door once more, "I've got a half gallon of iced tea waiting to be unleashed and I am willing to make good use of it to teach you a – "

"Calm down, ya psychotic freakazoid," Ino appears on the other side of the opened door, hands raised and placating as she steps aside from the evil-eyed Sakura that barges in, forcibly shoving Ino out into the hallway and slamming the door behind her.

When Sakura at last emerges from the bathroom, she isn't surprised to find Ino waiting for her like a nosy, gossip-starved creep. Sighing, she trudges downstairs for the inevitable spill session she knows her long-time friend is expecting. Dropping gracelessly into the couch cushions, wishing they were a bit plumper to swallow her whole, Sakura groans to express her displeasure, but both girls know it's all for show.

"Name your grievances," she waves her hand in Ino's general direction, the other pressed over her eyes as she collects her patience.

Ino scoffs, "Ha, as if we have all day. But fine, mainly, why does Naruto get the honor of hearing about your date with Itachi first? What else am I here for?!"

Dropping her hand from her eyes, Sakura fixes her ridiculous, overdramatic friend with an incredulous stare.

"Gee, maybe because someone was busy doing guilty work in the gym after killing her liver for an entire week." Sakura poses the sentence as some barely substantial theory and Ino pouts unhappily.

"I told you to come with me! There are some major hotties in the weight room," Ino raises a questioning eyebrow, "Not that you're apparently in need of one?"

A faint blush rises to Sakura's face as she averts her eyes from the quickly forming cat-like grin taking over Ino's face.

"Don't be getting ahead of yourself, Ino-pig. It was only breakfast."

At this, Ino's eyes pop.

"Breakfast?! As in the meal that comes after a night filled with – "

Sakura screeches, sending a rapid-fire decorative pillow into her friend's face with a satisfying smack.

Ino's expression is clearly unamused as the pillow falls into her lap.

"I'm going to ignore that only because you have more information that YOU ARE GOING TO SHARE WITH ME, FOREHEAD."

Sakura knows Ino has practically been frothing at the mouth, waiting for Sakura to come around of her own free will to share in her rendezvous with Itachi, but truthfully, school had pretty much impeded on any girl time she could appease Ino with. The fact that rough around the edges, no girly nonsense Temari was privy to more of Sakura's involvement with the elder Uchiha brother was a point she had been carefully hoping would go unnoticed.

And so, straightening her posture, fingers attacking the tasseled fringes of one of the throw blankets unfolded on the couch, Sakura divulges her early morning outing with Itachi, glosses over their short back-and-forth texts, and informs her of the date they have scheduled two nights from now.

And, reluctantly, she informs Ino of her run-in with Sasuke in the shadowy stacks of the library. Ino's baby blues look ready to pop from their eye sockets as Sakura divulges the aggressive assault on her lips and Sasuke's dogged pursuit of her down the stairwell.

Whistling, Ino drags out a low, "Daaammmnn, Sasuke is a piece of work."

Sakura heartily agrees, hugging a pillow to her torso as she contemplates the drastic change in her ex-boyfriend. As the girls share a few minutes of some rather colorful insults and criticisms of the Uchiha who has garnered their deep-seated ire, Sakura begins to feel a slight lessening in the tension that has been pooling in her shoulders for several days.

Now pacified with being caught up to speed on her best friend's suddenly chaotic love life, Ino hunts for the frequently hiding remote and settles herself beside Sakura to lazily peruse the channels of cable television. As images flash before Sakura's eyes without her truly seeing them, she vehemently tamps down the very unwanted truth floating to the surface of her mind: that kiss with Sasuke had kindled something within her she thought he had effectively destroyed the night he stood her up. Fingertips unconsciously raising to her lips, Sakura snaps out of her inner stupor, hands clenching into fists as she bites down hard on her lower lip where Sasuke had so tenderly nibbled.

She will not spare another thought for him tonight.

Gaze flicking over to the engrossed expression on her roommate's face, a smirk tugs at Sakura's abused lips.

"I need to ask you a favor."

Ino hums in response, signaling she's listening as she flips through the channels, looking for what Sakura knows will be the trashiest reality TV program currently airing.

One of Ino's many guilty pleasures.

"I need you to go get a book for me on lungfish."

Ino's nose scrunches up in confused distaste at the bizarre request.

But there's no way in hell Sakura is about to go back to the tenth floor of the library anytime soon.

* * *

" _Haven't seen my ex since we broke up  
Probably 'cause he didn't wanna grow up  
Now I'm out and wearing something low-cut  
'Bout to get attention from a grown up."_

* * *

Breathing in deeply through her nose, Sakura mentally layers every last nerve she has over herself like a coating of invisible armor. She may be draped in the latest boho fashion trend sweeping across campus, but underneath the gauzy, lacey exterior with its floral prints in pastel colors, she is as hard as diamond. Sharp, bright, and impervious. She recites this like a mantra as she carefully descends the stairs in her wedges to answer the door.

 _I am a diamond._

She steals a glance at her reflection cast on the glass pane of the framed photograph adorning the wall.

 _I am a diamond. I am a diamond._

Nervous fingers rove through her carefully angled bangs one last time.

 _I am a diamond._

Her palm closes over the doorknob, her wrist twisting to the right.

 _I am a diamond. I am a diamond! IAMADIAMOND!_

"You look beautiful, Sakura," a low, poised tone hums pleasantly through her ears, turning her brain to mush, "Then again, you always do."

 _I am chalk! Weak, crumbly, breakable chalk!_

And maybe she is chalk fool heartedly pretending to be a diamond, but in that moment, Sakura can't contain the warm smile lighting up her face like a beacon as she gushes her thanks at Itachi who passes a bundle of fresh, pink roses into her arms with a small, sincere smile. It's only as Sakura rushes back to the front door a bit breathlessly, having placed the bouquet on the kitchen table, that she realizes the man accompanying her to the art festival is doing so on less than platonic terms.

Moreover, she doesn't know if the tingle in her stomach is anxiety or anticipation for what's to come.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** **Uuummm, yeah, so here's a second chapter of this. The original plan was that chapter one was just going to be a stand-alone piece with no intention of doing anything to follow up with where it left off…Except I'm a doofus and somehow didn't label this work as complete when I posted it. Then, because reviewers are awesome and asked about seeing Sasuke's take on the whole matter, I decided what the heck, I'm at a tricky point in** _ **Of Much Madness and Reason**_ **, so I might as well stall a little more on that.**

 **Speaking of that other story I'm working (coughdawdlingcough) on, I have been slowly progressing on the next chapter – by no means is it abandoned! This story is just a side project for fun and distraction and will likely be sporadically updated, but I will attempt to give it an ending. As it stands, this story has no conclusive end pairing so that goes to show you how much I planned for this.**

 **Lyrics came from the following songs:**

" **Gasoline" – Halsey**

" **Scars to Your Beautiful" – Alessia Cara**

" **Back to Me" – Marian Hill (feat. Lauren Jauregui)**

" **Guys My Age" – Hey Violet**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** **Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto.**

 **Rated T:** **Due to coarse language.**

* * *

" _And fools rush in  
And I've been the fool before  
This time I'm gonna slow it down  
'Cause I think this could be more  
The thing I'm looking for."_

* * *

Shards of plastic cut into haphazard polygonal forms dangle from the low-hanging branches of the trees lining either side of the entrance to the small park where tonight's festivities are already beginning to liven up. As Sakura warily eyes the potentially eye-gouging, face-scratching recyclables above, her ears pick up on the warm-up tunings of a band somewhere in the distance.

Meanwhile, her hand picks up something else. Or rather, something else picks up her hand.

With a light blush burning high on the apples of her cheeks, Sakura glances up at the man walking leisurely at her side. In the warm glow of the setting sun, his hair looks a shade lighter and his eyes a tad softer. He acknowledges her probing look with a squeeze of her hand to which she smiles shyly, glancing away in search of a distraction from commenting on the fact that Itachi _freaking_ Uchiha just so casually decided to claim her hand.

Already she's at a loss as to what she should say. Somehow it seems she used up all her conversation points in the short car ride to the park. She really needs to break her habit of nervous rambling; now she's left with nothing but the awkward sensation of being on a date with a complete stranger.

Internally shaking her head, Sakura instructs herself to get a grip. She's known Itachi since her early childhood…if only in passing. There's nothing to get tripped up over.

 _Diamond. Diamond. Remember you're a diamond._

Yet, for all her self-assurances, she can't untangle her tongue from its well-tied knot. Biting her lip, Sakura once more casts a furtive glance at Itachi from the corner of her eye as they meander their way around the pond to all the artist stalls and concession booths. Her gaze swiftly diverts back to the cement walkway underfoot after she matches gazes with an equally inquisitive look from Itachi.

Caught between an embarrassed cough and a giggle, Sakura clears her throat and clamps down on her wavering confidence.

"Sooo, what do you want to do?" her voice is high and girlish with nerves and Sakura inwardly cringes at the sound, but if Itachi notices, he doesn't comment.

"Well, we would be remiss if we didn't stop to see Deidara's submission," Itachi replies with an air of polite submissiveness lest he face the artistic wrath of his dramatic associate.

Sakura nods agreeably, a short giggle slipping past her lips before she can suppress it.

 _Get ahold of your head, girl! Eesh. He's going to think you have nothing going on up there._

Leisurely they stroll down the lane of crafts booths, occasionally stopping as something pretty or merely bizarre catches Sakura's eye. For his part, Itachi seems content to let Sakura mosey along at her own pace, his hand gently wrapped around her own as she points out one oddity after another. He notes the way her eyes linger on a particular woven bracelet done in repeating patterns of pink, white, and green beads. The fingers of her free hand gently brush over its ends, her eyes drawn to the design so intently that she misses the way Itachi's mouth parts open to speak.

"This reminds me of when I was little," Sakura begins slowly, as though to herself, before she glances up at her – er – well, she doesn't know what to title him as just yet.

"We used to make things like this at summer camp every year. Never anything nearly as good as this though," she admits with a laugh, remembering the many bracelets she and Ino had exchanged, only for them to come unraveled and ruined after a few days' wear.

"Ah, are you referring to The Camp Hidden in the Leaves?" Itachi asks, fond memories surfacing in their minds of peaceful afternoons spent lakeside with hot dogs and corn on the cob roasting a short distance away while juice from freshly sliced watermelon drips off their fingers. It seems like a lifetime ago.

"Oh yeah, summers were the best until the owner passed away. I was upset anytime my parents planned a family vacation in place of sending me to camp. It seemed like every kid in town went there," Sakura turns away from the display of bracelets and Itachi easily keeps pace as they enter the main walkway once more, lawn lights staked low to the ground on either side and dimly beginning to glow with life as the sun takes its sweet time descending below the horizon.

"That's where I met Naruto a-and Sasuke," Sakura recovers with a casual tone, eyes roving over the stalls they still have left to cover, "Back when we were so little we could only attend half day sessions at the camp rather than spend the night."

"Yes, I remember those days. Sasuke was reluctant to leave with Mother while I stayed behind."

Sakura catches the amusement in his voice, something humorous left unsaid, but Sakura already knows where his mind is going despite his attempt not to besmirch his little brother's "cool" reputation.

Sakura huffs noisily through her nose, "Oh yes, I remember seeing that. I'm pretty sure Iruka still hates him."

"I wouldn't blame him. It _was_ a lot of green paint to clean up," Itachi replies with mock seriousness.

Sakura hums in agreement, thinking back to the day Sasuke had made his great escape from the daily corralling of the youngsters waiting for pick-up so that he could sneak away to his big brother. It was the day they all learned just how stealthy and devious the young Uchiha could be.

"Pretty sure that was the day he and Naruto became best friends," she chuckles.

And from there it's easy. The conversation flows between them without any jitters or awkward pauses. They move from topic to topic, covering Itachi's family and moving to Sakura's parents, her friends, her studies. She doesn't miss the way Itachi carefully guides their chatter around anything too personally close to him unless it has to do with Sasuke. Their playful banter concerning the absent Uchiha eases Sakura's lingering fear that she'll never be able to surmount the uncomfortable obstacle of an ex-boyfriend and brother to her current…pursuer?

Is Itachi her boyfriend now?

She doesn't want to break whatever it is that currently exists between them so delicately like threads of glass. It's beautiful but feels irresistibly fragile. Something is bound to cut them, but she refuses to be the one responsible for it.

"I wonder where Deidara's could be?" Sakura asks aloud, eyes roving ahead to the remaining stalls. They've made their way through nearly half of them already. Truthfully, she has no idea what she's looking for. Deidara never said what kind of art he made. She doesn't picture him as the type to make kitschy portraits of pets dressed up in human attire or to knit the variously patterned teapot cozies that are on display at the booth the pair is currently stopped at. Catching the eye of the apparent artist and entrepreneur and noting his spark of enthusiasm at having stopped a potential buyer, Sakura quickly turns her head and moves on, feeling guilty at having ignited false hope.

"Well, I know he's partial to sculpture so that's what I've been keeping my eye out for. All he told me is that I'd know it when I saw it," Itachi replies.

"How helpful," Sakura remarks dryly, eyes now scouring the stalls for ceramics.

"Could this be his?" She asks, leading the way over to a table covered with a selection of hand-painted bowls and cups.

Itachi shakes his head minutely, "No, it wouldn't be anything like that. Deidara's one for making statements rather than anything functional."

Sakura hums in amusement at this, continuing to make her way through the stalls and tables, though not without interruption or distraction as various artists attempt to catch the attention of passerby, and her own interests briefly pull her away from her mission. She smiles to herself at the artfully folded paper creations adorning a small, artificial pine tree like Christmas decorations. The folded birds, cats, bears, and fish are made from a multitude of colored papers and the largest piece of all, the angel resting atop all the greenery, is hand-painted with such loving detail that Sakura is stopped in her tracks to admire the mastery it must have taken to craft it. The wings themselves are something of a marvel with each and every feather painstakingly creased to form a beautiful, spiky array that encloses the bowed head and pious pose the figure strikes.

Sakura isn't particularly religious, but the posture and careful selection of blue tones sparks something almost reverent inside her. She can nearly guess what emotion must have filled its maker. Like a kind of longing…

"Hey, Itachi, look at – " Sakura turns her head to get Itachi's attention, but finds that he's moved away toward the back of the stall where, shaded under the canopy that makes the roof of the temporary shop, a lady lounges serenely in a director-style chair. He seems to have just finished conversing with her as he turns to meet Sakura's searching gaze. Sakura's observative eyes take in the shiny blue hair cut in a slightly angled bob, a pale blue rose – paper – tucked behind one ear.

 _She must have made the angel._

Amber eyes pierce through her, but Sakura can glean nothing from her expression. All she can read is calm, flat coldness. The woman gives away nothing, but any curiosity Sakura may have had over his interaction with the stony-faced artist is quelled as Itachi returns to her side without any change in demeanor.

"I think I may know where Deidara's exhibit is."

This catches Sakura's attention and she willingly follows after Itachi as he passes by the remaining booths without pause, heading toward the round fountain sitting in the approximate center of the festival with half the park dedicated to art while the other half is crammed with food vendors and carnival games to amuse bored children and empty the pockets of tired parents. The fountain has been drained of water and several people scurry about it, installing a – well, _something_ – at its center.

"What is it?" Sakura gapes at the towering mass of twisted and contorted metal striking a confident pose against the evening sky. It's approximately person-shaped…if that person was basically a triangle and she squints. Two arm-like projections are held up to the heavens and the sound of a drill buzzes inside Sakura's skull as she watches several men busily labor at securing the metalwork to its stand, with one up nearly toward the top of the creation's head, precariously leaning off of a ladder to secure a particular attachment point.

Itachi sighs as though not at all surprised, "Another excuse to light a fire."

Sakura raises an eyebrow in question and Itachi elaborates, "This is what Deidara meant when he said he'd been accepted to be a part of the grand finale. They'll be setting off fireworks from this point once it gets dark enough," he nods his head to the massive pile of boxes and crates left just inside the brickwork of the fountain, "And Deidara has a penchant for seeing his work go up in flames."

"Fire sculpture?" Sakura asks, the thought suddenly dawning on her as she regards the behemoth of welded scrap metal with new eyes.

"Exactly." Itachi affirms.

Sakura gazes skyward a moment longer, imagining the sculpture engulfed in flame against the backdrop of night. It was already impressive due its sheer size, but on fire? It may even be inspiring to behold.

"We'll have to come back once it's lit," Sakura smiles.

Itachi nods in agreement, once more claiming her hand to Sakura's immense pleasure. With the plan to return for the sculpture lighting filed away for later, Sakura realizes she needs to figure out what to do in the remaining time.

"Are you hungry?"

Sakura grins appreciatively at the suggestion, "I can _always_ go for a soft pretzel."

And so it's decided that the two should head for the snack area, weaving through the masses of parents and baby strollers. The night air is just beginning to cool off as squealing children give chase to one another as well as to a stray cat that has wandered into the park after the wafting aroma of fried foods. They wait in lines for Sakura's soft pretzel and cheese and for Itachi's warm apple dumpling topped with a generous scoop of ice cream – perhaps, a little more generous than others, Sakura notes with a side eye to the girl handing over the treat with an extra cheery "Have a good evening!"

 _But who can blame her, really?_

Sakura sneaks bashful glimpses of her date between bites as they rest side-by-side on one of the park benches.

 _He's really just too handsome to be real…And kind._

His gentle kindness above all else is what draws Sakura in. She's used to pretty boy faces, and knowing that Itachi is more than that has her stomach fluttering with the want for more, for this to be for real and for always and –

 _Whooooaaaa, girl. Slow down there._

She can't get ahead of herself. This is just one date. And yet, Itachi has already made his feelings for her about as clear as a person can.

Though it still begs the question of how and when such feelings for someone like her even developed. It's a complete mystery to Sakura.

It's a mystery Sakura wants to crack.

Dusting off the salt crystals from her fingers, Sakura disengages from her crowd watching to find Itachi looking at her with the sort of unveiled expression that makes something soften in her chest and warmth pool in her stomach like honey.

"C'mon, let's go for a walk around the pond," Sakura suggests, lightly rising to her feet and clasping her hands behind her back.

 _No ulterior motives here. Just a romantic view across the water from a hopefully empty gazebo. That's all._

"Lead the way," Itachi smiles.

This time, Sakura is the one to confidently take Itachi's hand, tugging him to his feet with playful insistence.

It's difficult work at first to make progress through the growing crowd as the sun finally sets, drawing more people toward the good smells and music emanating from the park. But once Sakura and Itachi carefully step through the tangle of bodies and make it to the far side of the pond, they can finally hear each other without straining. Sakura watches the bouncing reflections of the garden lights as a talkative duck couple glide across the blackened surface of the pond, sending expanding ripples outward until they collide with the bank. A flicker of movement catches the corner of her eye and she looks up just in time to watch as a trail of flame blazes up Deidara's sculpture before the whole thing is engulfed in fire. The fireworks show will be starting soon.

 _Could it get more perfect?_

Sakura's heart is swelling with contentment. The night is going off without a hitch.

"Do you want to go to the gazebo? We should have a good view of the fireworks from there."

 _YES!_

"Sounds good," Sakura replies, tucking a bothersome strand of hair behind her ear. Itachi glances down at Sakura, amused by the carefree way she swings their joined hands.

"Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?"

The question catches her off guard, but she doesn't miss a stride as she expertly recovers with a teasing pout, "Only once."

Itachi smirks, "Ah, well, it must be because you've left me so tongue-tied."

Sakura chuckles. Of all things Itachi is, easily flustered isn't one of them, though that does spark the idea that she'd certainly like to see what it takes to get the careful and tightly controlled Uchiha all hot and bothered.

"But I do want to thank you for giving me a chance. After your reaction at the club, I was afraid I'd scared you off," Itachi continues.

"Ooohh, that," Sakura laughs nervously, guilt gnawing at her for the way she had left Itachi waiting for an answer. Not exactly a rejection, but still.

"I was just really…surprised. I didn't know what to say to you suddenly – well…" Sakura fumbles for the right words as they approach the gazebo with its white posts and green shingled roof. Itachi releases her hand, crossing the short distance to the far end of the gazebo. Fortunately, none of the art festival attendees had roamed this far away from all of the activity. They have this small shelter all to themselves and Sakura is overcome with the sense to speak in soft whispers in this secluded place.

Itachi half turns back to face her, shadows overtaking his features in the dim light. Little is provided by the nearby post lantern lights plotted at intervals around the paved walkway looping the perimeter of the park. It's off-putting to her eyes to see how darkened everything is in close proximity to her, yet everything across the pond where the festival is in full swing is clearly illuminated.

"You didn't know what to say when you heard I have feelings for you," Itachi approaches the subject delicately, almost stiffly, and Sakura wonders if her clumsy wording has offended him.

Sakura's teeth sink into her bottom lip and she moves to close the distance between them, placing a soft touch at Itachi's shoulder to turn him fully toward her. He obliges her easily, and Sakura isn't sure if she feels relief or disappointment at the perfectly apathetic expression he now wears.

"It's just that I never really knew I was even on your radar," Sakura begins, noting the amused quirk of Itachi's eyebrow at this honest statement, "I thought you only saw me as your little brother's friend. I mean, I know you knew we started dating, but even then it's not like we ever really associated with one another."

 _Ugghhh. You moron, you had one job. Don't bring up dating Sasuke!_

But Itachi doesn't appear bothered by it. And perhaps, Sakura reasons, there's no reason for him to be. Why be troubled by the truth at this point?

"I was always aware of you, Sakura."

Sakura's eyes widen.

Itachi sighs, raking his fingers through his bangs and all the way back to the band that neatly gathers the length of his hair together.

"I'm not going to lie and tell you it was love at first sight," he pauses to meet Sakura's captivated expression and Sakura, unbidden, releases a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, "You were still a little kid, after all, when we first met."

" _So were you_ ," Sakura retorts playfully. Itachi acquiesces with a slight shrug.

"But you were always interesting. The way you kept my little brother and that Uzumaki kid in line."

"You make me sound like their keeper," Sakura laughs, moving to rest her elbows against the gazebo's wooden railing. In the distance, a small crew of staff working the festival is putting up barricades around the flaming sculpture guarding the collection of fireworks ready to be shot off into the night sky. A crowd is starting to build around it and Sakura wonders how much longer they'll have to wait.

"No," Itachi amends, "But it makes me glad to know my brother had someone like you looking after him, someone who truly cared about his well-being. I suppose it was a relief as his big brother," Itachi explains, coming to rest alongside her to gaze at the crowds forming in anticipation.

Sakura looks up to the man beside her and smiles softly.

"Though at the same time, I think I was envious of Sasuke. For having you."

Some spell seems to have woven itself around Sakura; there's simply no other reason for the irresistible impulse that overcomes her. Leaning forward on her tiptoes, she presses her lips gently against Itachi's cheek.

"Well, you're the one that has me now," Sakura murmurs, lips tickling against Itachi's smooth skin before she pulls back, pleased to find she has the Uchiha's undivided attention. A guiding hand at her waist has Sakura moving impossibly closer still as they turn to face one another. Itachi's head dips down with a knowing smirk before he returns the favor with a kiss of his own pressed squarely against Sakura's eager lips.

"This can't be real," Sakura mutters, mostly to herself once they break apart to catch a quick breath. She colors instantly at Itachi's chuckles, arms folding across her front defensively.

"Don't get such a big head, Uchiha, I didn't mean it like that," Sakura sniffs daintily, but the corners of her mouth are wavering in the struggle not to smile.

"I just mean that it's so bizarre," she unconsciously raises a hand to flutter between them, "I never really thought of you and me as a couple."

"You really know how to wound a man's pride," Itachi remarks drolly, but there's good-natured humor in his tone.

Sakura gives a playfully light smack to Itachi's arm, careful to moderate her strength well below her usual Naruto-smacking levels.

"Please, you're an Uchiha, you have plenty of pride to spare," Sakura rolls her eyes, enjoying the joking mood that has settled over the two. As wonderful as a serious and romantic Itachi can be, she'd be lying if she said it didn't put her on edge. She's waiting for the big reveal of a camera crew and TV host to jump out of nowhere and scare the crap out of her, letting her know that this has all been one big prank at her expense.

 _This seriously can't be real._

Surreptitiously, she pinches the skin on her forearm and delights in the sting.

The two settle once again in their side-by-side positons, though with a notable lack of space separating them this time. Sakura relaxes against Itachi's side when he wraps an arm around her.

Part of her is reveling in the warmth radiating off the man beside her while part of wonders why such a simple display of affection was so beyond Sasuke's ability.

A third part abruptly stomps out the second part for even daring to give Sasuke a spare thought. Not now.

"Soooo," Sakura drawls pleasantly. A husky edge has entered her voice that normally would never wrap its way around her tongue except in rare cases of inebriated boldness. But she feels just like that. Intoxicated. Dangerous. Alluring.

She hasn't a clue what she's doing that seems to be working so well on her date, but she's darn sure going to use it. She feels equal parts ridiculous and seductive at the same time.

"It seems unfair that you know quite a bit about me, but I know so little about you. I'm curious. What makes _Itachi Uchiha_ tick?" she lavishes over each syllable in that name as though savoring a melting chocolate, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't watching for his reaction.

Nor could she say she missed the way his eyes darkened just a bit, his throat bobbing marginally with a subdued swallow. Inwardly, she preens. Outwardly, she calmly admires the lights dancing across the surface of the pond. She doesn't want to overdo it here, not when she has no idea what the end game of all this could possibly be. Right now, she just wants to enjoy the moment of someone else enjoying her company.

"I assure you I'm not that interesting," Itachi responds, fingers moving to stroke through the hair beginning to fall forward across Sakura's cheek. For once, she can't be bothered to tuck the damnable strands behind her ear if she's going to receive these kinds of ministrations. It's odd how one brother can be so averse to touch while the other seems to initiate it at every turn.

At Sakura's disappointed expression, he tries again, "I'm sure there is little else to tell from what you already know."

Sakura waves her hand dismissively, "That's just the surface stuff. You're an Uchiha, you graduated at the top of your class in high school, you got your law degree, you hang out with some rather colorful characters…" Sakura ticks off the items on her mental checklist of 'Things I know about Itachi' and comes upon something she had never delved into too deeply.

"I don't think I even know the surface details all that well," Sakura states, slightly perturbed, "What exactly do you do with the Akatsuki? I mean, they're a gang, right?" she asks, voice needlessly lowered as she softens the initial blunt question with one that's little better.

Itachi's expression loses some of its teasing good humor and Sakura instantly regrets asking.

Then again, doesn't she have a right to know if she's going to be involved with him?

Sakura swears she can even feel his body stand up just a bit more rigidly, as though preparing himself to let her down.

"It's best we not talk about my work."

Troubled green eyes turn to bottomless obsidian ones, the very obvious question of " _Why_?" hanging between them. But Sakura surprises both herself and her date by tamping down on her suspicions.

"Ok," she says simply.

 _For now._

"I can be patient. I think we can take our time getting to know one another better," Sakura clarifies, blushing with new pleasure as Itachi plants a chaste kiss to her forehead in silent thanks.

"A lot better," Itachi agrees.

"But there is one thing I need to know – "

An incessant ringing emanates from Itachi's back pocket and Sakura barely catches the near imperceptible sigh that escapes him, even in such close proximity. His eyes quickly glance at the screen before flicking to Sakura's inquiring gaze.

"I'm sorry."

Something cracks inside Sakura at those words, said in that tone with that kind of look. She knows she isn't going to like whatever comes out of his mouth next.

"I need to go," Itachi continues, taking a small step back to break contact with her, phone still ringing in his hand though he's muted the volume. The screen is lit up, a single illuminated rectangle of light floating in the cozy darkness Sakura was looking forward to sharing with him for the duration of the fireworks display.

"What is it? Is something wrong? You haven't even answered – "

Comprehension dawns on Sakura with growing dismay.

"Work?"

Itachi nods, "Again, I really am sorry, Sakura. It's terrible timing. Let me give you money for a cab home."

Sakura watches dumbfounded as Itachi reaches into his wallet to extract a bill that's way more than she would ever need for the short trip to her duplex. Mentally shaking herself into action, she puts a hand out to halt Itachi's gesture.

"It's fine. I can just take the bus."

She hates the way her voice sounds.

 _I'm a diamond, damn it._

Itachi hesitates, clearly unhappy to be leaving her the way he is, but pressed to answer the call and whatever obligation he has to the Akatsuki.

The phone finally stops ringing, its screen blank and the gazebo cast in darkness once more so that Sakura can barely make out the features of Itachi's face. But she feels the featherlight kiss against her mouth before he's backing away once more to leave.

"I promise, it's ok," Sakura assures, her voice steadier this time, more confident. She even tries to smile though she doesn't know if Itachi can see her attempt.

"Please let me know when you make it home."

Sakura nods, "I will."

With that, Sakura watches as Itachi turns to leave, his legs carrying him away at a brisk pace, phone up to his ear as he exits the park onto one of the quiet, surrounding side streets. Soon, he's lost to her view and Sakura can feel her mouth pulling downward into a frown. This wasn't how tonight was supposed to end.

Belatedly, she realizes the show has already started as she turns back to the crackling hiss of a firework cascading over the park in blues and reds. Another pierces through the afterimage in a fierce shade of pink. Slowly, Sakura turns to shuffle her way back to the spot she had fully intended to be in while wrapped in Itachi's arms and enjoying the show.

 _Not this again._

Determined, Sakura watches dry eyed throughout the entire event, earning a crick in her neck for her troubles of gazing up from under the gazebo's roof.

But even so…

 _Was it worth it?_

* * *

" _I was walking down the street the other day  
Tryna distract myself  
But then I see your face  
Oh wait, that's someone else."_

* * *

As Sakura exits through the heavy doors of the library, her souring mood hits an all-time low for the day as she takes in the gray skies and light drizzle already peppering the cement walkways. She had just come from the impromptu homework session her lab mates had hastily organized due to the quickly approaching deadline of their bi-weekly assignments, and it had been of little benefit to her. The one question that she had left unanswered – the one question that _still_ remains unanswered – weighs heavily in the back of her mind. She'll be pissed if she forgets to do it after having spent the last hour and a half guiding her slacking classmates through the rest of the problem set. She really needs to stop being so helpful.

Roughly grabbing the handle of her umbrella from the outside pocket of her backpack, she presses the button that releases her shelter with satisfying speed.

 _It's almost weapon-like…_

And really, that thought alone should warn her that she's in a dangerously stupid mood.

Of course, the last-minute sense of scholarly obligation that struck her wayward friends is not fully to blame for the gray clouds gathering overhead or in her mind. No, mostly she's mad at herself and the persistent cycle of self-doubting thoughts that have plagued her all through yesterday and into today.

She hasn't heard from Itachi in nearly forty-eight hours. And that truth burns angrily just beneath her skin, heating her unpleasantly despite the cool mist slanting across the quad.

What was it exactly that she had been expecting? For their date night to go perfectly? For it to draw to a leisurely, gentle close with Itachi walking her to her doorway and timing it just right to plant a single, sweet kiss on her lips as she turns back from the door to bid him good night?

And did she imagine he'd promise to call the next day? Promise that this wasn't some one time deal?

That junk is for the movies. The really corny, low-budget, no-name actors kind of movies.

This was likely where things would fall apart. He'd get caught up with his own life, his own work and responsibilities and Sakura may be important, but she isn't _that_ important.

Isn't that always how it is with these Uchiha men?

She had even been willing not to press him on what exactly his line of work entails. For now, anyway.

Sighing aloud to herself, her mood too dark to worry whether or not the passing students notice her grumblings, Sakura switches her neon pink umbrella from one hand to the other so she can more easily access the phone jutting out of her back pocket. Checking the time, she sighs once more as her eyes drink in the unappealing sight of the digital numbers.

She's missed the scheduled dinner her housemates had set up, and although she knows it won't be the first time nor the last and that her friends won't be upset with her, she's upset for missing the one part of her day she had been looking forward to. Ino can be a pretty decent cook when you can manage to take her phone out of her hands so she can focus.

Another dejected sigh tears past her lips.

Fantastic. She loves twenty minute walks home in the rain. On an empty stomach.

 _I should have just gone out to eat with the rest of the group._

They had planned on going to one of the diners to grab dinner and celebrate being (almost) done with their chemistry homework, and Sakura is pretty certain at least one of them would have offered to pay for her meal in thanks for all of her help. But after being cooped up with them in the tiny private study room they had taken over in the library and forcing herself not to act on all of her strangling fantasies every time one of them looked at her with a blank stare after she had just explained the same concept for the fifth time – well! It had been quite enough time spent in their company and Sakura just wanted to get the heck out of there and into her PJs at home.

 _And now here I am. Alone. Hungry. With wet feet._

Her frown grows in intensity at her poor choice in footwear for the day as her sandals slap loudly against the sidewalk with her brisk strides. Her heels are already wet, providing the perfect surface for the grime and pollution of the streets to adhere to the soles of her feet in a filthy layer of grit.

She waits impatiently at the crosswalk at one of the busy intersections she must cross over to reach her neighborhood. And sure, maybe she pushed the button one or twelve too many times despite her insistence having no bearing on illuminating the walk sign any sooner.

But she's tired, damn it!

And of course that's when life decides Sakura needs a pertinent lesson. Patience is a virtue, after all, and when it rains, it pours. So, really, she's going to get a two-for-one deal.

A surprisingly strong gust of wind blasts through the area, rattling the street signs and shaking down the leaves off the nearby trees lining the street.

And, unfortunately for Sakura, this early breath of chill warning of the oncoming autumn causes an alarming _snap!_ from somewhere in the mass of now sagging nylon in her face. Sakura can feel her jaw go slack with disbelief. Turning the umbrella around, Sakura finds not one, but two of the ribs formerly maintaining the structure of the umbrella's canopy now broken and limp.

 _Cheap piece of crap!_

Sakura can feel the flush in her cheeks as well as the half amused, half wary glances of the few people waiting with her at the intersection. She's pretty certain steam might be coming off her head.

It's at this point that the light finally changes and as the other pedestrians make their way around the silently fuming girl, Sakura takes a few breaths to collect herself before dunking the now useless contraption in the nearby trashcan…and yeah, maybe she used a little too much force as the loud _clang_ catches the attention of the driver stopped to allow pedestrians to use the crosswalk. But Sakura doesn't look up from the black pavement as she storms across the lines of traffic. The last thing she needs at this point is to miss her chance to cross.

The rain is already beginning to worsen, the light drizzle having turned to fattened drops that ping off the top of her head and glide into her eyes. Tromping around the puddles as she keeps up a lively barrage of insults in her head aimed at the poor city planning that didn't account for proper drainage of walkways, Sakura can't even find it within herself to cringe at her heavy usage of the word "fool." Maybe she's turning into a Disney villain.

With envy, she glances at the warmly lit storefronts that slowly turn into apartment complexes and houses the further away she gets. Maybe she'll take a nice hot shower before she scavenges whatever her friends left of dinner. It's during these musings that the first streak of lightning pierces nearly horizontal across the sky like a great crack, closely followed by a clap of thunder that has Sakura clenching her teeth at its nearness. She loves watching storms…just not while she's actually in them.

 _Fucking terrific._

Grimacing, Sakura attempts to quicken her already hurried pace as the wafting aroma of wet asphalt assaults her nose. Yet, with her overburdened backpack slowing her down with the weight of her ridiculously huge chemistry textbook, she can't easily break into a full run lest she desire a sorely bruised back. And at this point, she's already so wet that there's little point in trying to avoid more rain. Now, the only concern is over the flashing lightning streaking through the sky.

At last, Sakura turns onto her street and feels the inkling of relief at the sight of her front door. Her feet are dangerously slipping within her sandals despite the straps buckled around her ankles and she'd really like to avoid spraining one.

 _Wouldn't that just be the fucking icing on the cake of this shitstorm day?_

Maybe she's beginning to sound a little too much like Hidan.

Sakura's exposed arms have broken out in gooseflesh by the time she's mounted the short flight of stairs up to her front porch and it's at this point she notes that her home is oddly darkened at this time of day. Even with the curtains pulled shut, she should be able to see the living room light on, but all appears dark as she turns the knob on the front door.

 _Locked._

Grunting with frustration, Sakura rings the doorbell as she hefts her backpack off her shoulders to rummage for her keys, knowing that she could very well be faster in finding them than either of her housemates might be in answering the door.

Kneeling down, she slides out her textbook with disdain for its cumbersome weight, scooping out various other odds and ends from her damp backpack, eyebrows drawing together as she nears the limit of its contents.

Pens, paperclips, lip gloss, a tangled phone charger…everything but her keys.

"You've got to be kidding me," Sakura groans to herself, shutting her eyes and biting down the next words that rise to her tongue. She's cussed enough for the day. And Ino and Temari still haven't come to the door. Sakura rings the doorbell once more, but already any hope of having it answered has begun to shrivel. It's just been that kind of day. Why should she expect anything to go right at this point?

Ignoring the mess of rummaged belongings scattered around her, Sakura straightens to her full height and pulls out her phone, quickly dialing Ino's number. It rings for what seems like forever before going to her annoyingly cheerful voicemail. Pacing across the length of the porch, Sakura tries Temari next only to receive the same treatment as the automated tone of the voicemail drones in her ear.

Jerking her phone away from her face, Sakura's eyes alight on the text message waiting for her attention, finally discovering where her two friends have wandered off to.

 _The movies. Great._

She really wanted to see that one too.

And now Sakura is left soaked, hungry, and locked out of her own house. And she still needs to finish her chemistry homework in time for tomorrow. Based off of the time stamp on Ino's text, she only missed them by about twenty minutes, which means she'll likely have close to two hours before they make it back.

Typing out a quick text of ' _locked out'_ so her friends understand her calls, Sakura pinches the bridge of her nose, trying to muster up some smidgeon of patience to weather out her unfortunate circumstances.

Dismally, Sakura casts her gaze up to the skies, noting that the conditions up there haven't gotten any better. Now that she's out of the rain thanks to the little protection her covered porch offers, Sakura wrings out the water in her loose hair with both hands before pointlessly trying to shake them dry so she can fetch her things.

It's as she's kneeling down to do this, back to the road and pouring rain, that her ears prick up at the sound of tires roving over pavement. The quiet hush following an engine shutting off. The slam of a car door as, likely, one of her neighbors returns home from school or work.

She wishes she had the money to afford a car right now, but at least Ino had one so the girls could make grocery trips without the hassle of using the buses. As her thoughts turn from cars to dryness, Sakura puzzles which one of her friends might be willing to come pick her up so she can wait out the storm at their place until her housemates return to let her back in. Naruto is out since he's as car-less as she is. Tenten is likely at work. Kiba's is broken down nearly every other week. Hinata has a car she barely uses because she approaches near panic attack levels almost every time she gets behind the wheel…Who does that leave?

"Sakura."

 _No, not me! What a stupid answer._

"Huh?!" Sakura's head jerks up, eyes unclouding from her internal monologue as she takes in the figure leisurely climbing the steps up to her, a black umbrella shielding his perfectly styled hair and leather jacket.

Her face scrunches in confusion.

"What are you doing here?"

The question is pointed, but not as sharp as she had intended for whenever she did actually come fact-to-face with him again. She blames it on the avalanche of inconvenient occurrences that has plagued her ever since she agreed to meet at the library today. Her mind has simply been split in too many directions of thought to solely focus on the annoyance standing arrogantly before her.

"Seeing you."

And that's it. That's all the response she gets. It really pisses her off that Sasuke never managed to develop better conversation skills.

"Well, gee," Sakura's tongue drips with poisonous sarcasm as she rolls her eyes, replacing the last of her items back in her backpack and standing up to be at eye level, "Please excuse my manners. I'd love to invite you in for tea, but I'm currently locked out of my own house."

Sasuke's eyes widen slightly at this, a slight smirk quirking the corners of his mouth. Sakura doesn't like that look.

"You forgot your keys again."

It's not a question. Sasuke states it knowingly, likely because this isn't exactly the first time Sakura has done this.

Sakura crosses her arms over her chest, partly in defiance and partly for warmth.

"So what? That's hardly any concern of yours."

Even she knows she sounds ridiculous and Sasuke's raised eyebrow tells her he isn't impressed by her show of indifferent bravado. She really just wishes he'd leave so she can resume moping in self-pity on her porch until her friends return from their night out.

"And your roommates aren't home?" Sasuke questions, eyes already combing over the usual area Ino likes to park her car.

"Maybe," Sakura bites out as though the answer costs her an arm and a leg.

 _Anything would be better than my pride…Not that there's much of that left that he hasn't claimed._

Sasuke sighs at her attitude, taking several steps closer so as to enjoy the covering of her porch so he can close his umbrella with the click of a button.

 _Oooohhh, faaaannncccyyyy. Is that an automatic retractable umbrella? I bet his mother got that for him._

And really, Sakura admits to herself, she needs to tone back the ire. She has no qualms with Sasuke's mother, but she's fast approaching the end of her rope and any weapon she can use against Sasuke will be utilized.

"Why don't you come wait for them at my place?"

He says it so easily. So off-handedly. So…

Carelessly.

Sakura feels her muscles tense, locked in a moment of hesitation between fight or flight and looking for that last telling sign to push her over the edge in one direction or the other.

"And why would you offer to do something like that? People might start suspecting you possess a shred of common decency, you know," she snips back.

Fight it is.

Sasuke grunts in a way that Sakura can't quite decipher if he's ticked off or amused, but it's likely the former.

"C'mon. I don't have all night and you're going to get sick out here."

Sasuke turns on his heel, gliding back the way he came and shaking open his umbrella. Pausing on the steps leading down to the sidewalk, he glances back up at the obstinate girl glaring at him, noting she hasn't budged an inch.

"Sakura."

She really hates that tone.

She also really hates standing around in the rain when she's cold and missing dinner.

Internally screaming at herself for what she's about to do, Sakura lurches forward one awkward step before her mind finally lets her go freely.

Though perhaps not completely free of guilt.

Quickly catching up to Sasuke, she's surprised he keeps pace with her as they descend the stairs together, him sharing the wide, arched protection of his decidedly more expensive umbrella until they reach his car.

Sakura rolls her eyes as Sasuke rounds the other side of the vehicle without so much as a spare word. The day Sasuke Uchiha opens a car door for a lady will be the day Naruto swears off ramen.

Not that she needs him to or anything.

Sakura sniffs disdainfully at the very notion as she tugs on the door handle and ducks out of the rain.

* * *

" _I know I'm not the center of the universe  
But you keep spinning round me just the same."_

* * *

And that's how Sakura finds herself in Sasuke's plush car. It's been a few months since she was last in it, but it's still in immaculate condition thanks to Sasuke's obsessively tender care.

 _He loves this car more than he ever cared for me._

Honestly, she's surprised he even allows her to sit in it considering her clothes are still soaked with rainwater and dampening the passenger seat she buckles herself into. Her eyebrows hike up even further when Sasuke reaches over to adjust the heat for Sakura's benefit, a gesture she never thought possible of him without prompting.

 _Where the hell did he learn manners?_

Had he picked up a self-help book for dummies?

Sakura warily eyes this new alien creature from the corner of her eye as he eases out of the tight parking space with a careless ease that's so typically Sasuke she wants to gag. Why had she found him so appealing for all those years? He's cocky and rude, pushy and demanding, completely lacks basic people skills, and acts like the world owes him something. Sure he's kind of cute the way his overly gelled hair sticks up in the back, but whom other than some kind of conceited pretty boy would go to the trouble of carefully styling their hair like that in the first place?

No, she decides, there can be no redeeming qualities about Sasuke anymore.

And it's just now that Sakura realizes she's completely trapped in a small, confined space with the exact person she told herself she'd be content to avoid for the rest of her life. She's completely at his mercy, at least until he stops the car.

Even so, Sakura's brain is already whirring through a few estimates and quick calculations at how best to land if she needs to make a hasty exit from a vehicle moving at approximately thirty-five miles per hour.

"Have you had dinner yet?"

The question completely takes her off guard, leaving her with the oh-so intelligent response:

"What?"

Sasuke shoots her his patented you're-a-moron-stop-wasting-my-precious-time look and surprisingly tries again.

"Have you eaten yet?"

"…Maybeee."

Sasuke exhales loudly, the car jerking to an unusually unsmooth stop as they catch a red light.

"Cut the bullshit, Sakura," Sasuke turns to face her, his once placid expression morphing into a familiar scowl, "I'm asking if you're hungry or not. I'm trying to be _nice_."

"Is that what you call it?" Sakura gives a bark of laughter, unable to control the visceral anger so abruptly seething to the surface. But anger is an emotion she's comfortable with seizing and running with; better that than the inexplicable confusion whirling around like a tornado through her head.

"Yes, if you wouldn't be so stubborn and just cooperate."

And at this point, Sakura has to ask just what exactly is she doing with Sasuke in his car? Why did she go along with this?

The rhythmic glide of the windshield wipers across her view of the street clues her in to the obvious, but why had she more or less just acquiesced to Sasuke's suggestion? It had almost been easy. Even though she's furious with him. Even though she's unsure of how to even act around him now that they've broken up…Especially when she considers that lip lock he attacked her with in the library last week.

Are they starting anew? Was that just a confused one time slip up on his part? Is this Sasuke trying to have some kind of friendship with her?

 _What in the actual hell._

She really doesn't have the energy to deal with this right now. Leaning over to crank up the heat even higher, if only to get a reaction from the driver at her boldness to operate _his_ car, Sakura replies honestly, "I'm starving."

She's looking out the passenger window now, using her eyes to trace the trek of a fat, wayward raindrop as it cascades down the curved surface, colliding with other raindrops to merge into one and fall out of view. Sakura misses the way Sasuke's hands loosen marginally from their tight grip around the wheel.

"Fine."

But her ears do pick up on the casual quality that has leaked back so fully and effortlessly into Sasuke's voice.

"I'm hungry too."

And she decides that she can tolerate this new Sasuke at least temporarily. Not because she owes him the pleasantness of her company or because she misses him or because his brother hasn't contacted her since so hastily departing from their date.

No, Sakura can do this because she knows Sasuke has the best stocked refrigerator of any student on campus.

* * *

" _It's like a test, it's like a game  
To see how much I can take.  
I'm curious to live and learn  
So light me up and let me burn."_

* * *

As it turns out, Sasuke's odd mood leads him to ordering take-out for the two of them from a nearby Italian restaurant that delivers. And Sakura tells herself that the non-home-cooked meal is likely for the best for despite the well-prepared kitchen, Sasuke's culinary skills are mediocre at best and Sakura isn't about to walk into her old role of cooking his meals and cleaning up after him considering their current state of affairs.

It doesn't stop her from snagging the container of hummus and a bag of tortilla chips though. Settling down on the couch with their order placed and Sakura wrapped in a towel over her wet clothes, she munches on her snack with a vengeance in an attempt to drown out the blood rushing through her ears.

This is so weird.

So _awkward_.

And yet Sasuke lounges beside her on the couch, kicking off his shoes and letting them sprawl messily on the floor as he locates the remote and begins searching for one game or another on the enormous flat screen Mommy and Daddy Uchiha purchased for him last Christmas.

It's sort of like how they used to be when they were dating, and yet it's completely different. He isn't speaking and yet Sasuke just feels more open to her. Like he's relaxed and doesn't mind her presence. And is it just her or is he sitting a little closer to her than he would normally elect to do?

Sakura stuffs another handful of hummus-dipped chips in her mouth to fuel her consternation.

 _What game are you playing, Sasuke?_

However, she doesn't have long to stew on the thought as the quiet bubble enveloping them in the living room is quickly pierced by the exuberant entrance of Sasuke's roommates coming home. Like some kind of clichéd horror movie scene, the front door is thrust inward on a clap of thunder with Suigetsu framed within the doorway and the larger figure of a soaking wet Jugo lurking behind him. An encore of lightning cracks across the sky and the door is slammed shut a second later.

"Daaammnn, it's getting nasty out there," Suigetsu complains, kicking off his shoes in a haphazard mess before tromping into the kitchen. Amusingly, he seemingly hasn't taken stock of her presence, and Sakura watches with soft eyes as Jugo bends down to straighten up Suigetsu's footwear by the door before taking off his own.

 _Poor guy._

The discordant symphony of cabinet doors opening and slamming shut reaches her ears from the kitchen and she can only imagine the snack plundering taking place.

"Hey, who ate the last of the hummus?!"

Sakura rolls her eyes at the indignant squawk accompanied by the slam of the refrigerator door, but tensely braces herself at the impending meeting between her and the little violet-eyed creeper. Heavy footsteps quickly approach the back of the couch and Sakura notes with annoyance that Sasuke hasn't so much as deigned to turn his head to acknowledge his fast-approaching housemate.

 _Oh, no worries, Sasuke. I'll deal with the little headache._

"Wait a minute, what are _you_ doing here?" Suigetsu drawls.

"Well, hello to you too, _ass_ ," Sakura snips, crunching on another chip in the face of Suigetsu's accusatory expression.

Violet eyes narrow further, a dangerous smirk curling his features as he languidly props his forearms on the back of the couch between her and Sasuke, leering a little too closely into Sakura's personal space.

"So, you're the culprit," Suigetsu deduces, eyes greedily roving over the bowl of hummus perched temptingly in Sakura's lap.

"I'm a guest," Sakura counters dismissively.

Suigetsu drums his fingers across the top of the couch, seemingly in thought though Sakura knows Suigetsu's mind rarely thinks – it schemes.

"So, are you two, like, back together or something? Living for the drama?" Suigetsu asks, an offensive finger poking Sasuke in the side of the head to get his attention.

Sasuke bats the hand away with a scowl and an icy, "Knock it off."

Suigetsu mimics a sudden chill running through him.

"Uggghh, he's so cold, Sakura- _chan_ ," Suigetsu whines playfully, "Quick! I need ten cc's of hummus stat!"

And with that declaration, Suigetsu snags an arm across Sakura, making a bold grab for the bowl of coveted mashed chick peas.

"Abso-fucking-lutely not," Sakura deadpans with a twist of her body to shield the bowl away from her attacker.

Curling her body around the prize, Sakura is confident in her assumption that there's no way Suigetsu will chance wrestling it away from her with Sasuke present. No way does he want to be caught manhandling what's considered Sasuke's…

 _Not that I am or anything!_

Suigetsu huffs in annoyance, disdainfully eyeing the girl balled in on herself, all limbs carefully tucked in and cradling the bowl to her front like a precious child, her head resting on the arm of the couch.

"You don't even live here!" he gripes, gaze sliding to Sasuke for some kind of back up, though he quickly gives up on that half-formed idea when he realizes just exactly who it is he's appealing to for some support. Sasuke's eyebrow barely twitches to indicate the entire interaction is of little consequence to him aside from being incredibly grating on his nerves.

Groaning in defeat, Suigetsu flops onto his back, draping himself over the back of the couch so his head rests upside down in the space between the pink-haired hummus hoarder and his housemate.

"Only child syndrome over here," Suigetsu mutters to himself.

"I resent that!" Sakura quips, shooting a glare over her shoulder at the sprawled out man who has effectively wedged himself between her and Sasuke – for better or worse.

"Sooooo," Suigetsu drawls after a moment of silence as Sasuke finally settles on a sports talk show that already has Sakura bored and eager to return to her homework.

"Are you guys just hooking up for old time's sake or what?"

Sakura smacks Suigetsu in the gut with the half-empty bag of tortilla chips at the same time Sasuke forcefully tugs on Suigetsu's legs, sending him heels over head off the couch to land on the floor in an undignified heap.

"What the hell, you bastard!" Suigetsu whines, disentangling himself in the tight quarters between the couch and coffee table. For his trouble, he earns a nasty connection with his elbow against the coffee table that leaves him shrieking curses and rolling helplessly around on the living room rug.

Sakura shares a glance with Sasuke, smirking at their handiwork.

Just as she's about to generously offer a truce to the nuisance picking himself off the floor and allow him to _share_ the hummus, the doorbell rings. Sasuke rouses himself off the couch at a leisurely pace to answer it, tossing the remote in Sakura's direction. Staring at his back in bewilderment at his silent display of kindness, Sakura startles at the prod to her foot. Raising an unamused eyebrow at the man now lounging on the floor, chin propped in his palm and hair disheveled, Sakura decides she doesn't like the studious expression playing over Suigetsu's features.

" _What?_ " she insists when he offers no comment after earning her attention.

Suigetsu seems to catch himself, sniffing haughtily and turning his face away, "Nothing, it's just weird having you back here."

Miffed, Sakura decides to ignore his weirdness and picks up the bag of chips only to throw them back down on his stomach, setting the bowl down on the floor more carefully.

"Enjoy," she replies with all the sincerity that could fit on the tip of a toothpick. She can hear Sasuke rummaging through the carry-out bags in the kitchen and decides to join him. The smell of pasta ensnares her and lightens her mood.

* * *

" _I want you forever  
Even when we're not together  
Scars on my body so I can take you wherever."_

* * *

When the last of the tortellini has been speared and devoured and Suigetsu somehow finagled his way into stealing two of the breadsticks, Sakura feels too lazy to contemplate arranging a pick-up from her roommates even when she notices the rain has started to let up. The three find themselves comfortably sinking into the couch with sated stomachs. Sakura slips down onto the floor to more easily spread out her homework and notes as she peruses her chemistry textbook for the section addressing her remaining homework problem. Suigetsu talks Sasuke into some video game and Sakura almost feels at ease as the two insult each other's mothers with reckless abandon while abusing their cordless controllers.

 _It's weird…This is almost…kind of nice_.

Sakura muses to herself over the oddity of it all. She had only been over to Sasuke's place a handful of times and usually only long enough to make dinner (and clean up after said dinner) and maybe watch a movie – oftentimes, with one or both of his roommates lingering around. She had always felt so special to be allowed over at Sasuke's home, like it was some sort of honor or rare privilege. She rolls her eyes at the thought. He's just a regular guy, after all. One who plays video games, has loud roommates, and enjoys the luxury of living off of mommy and daddy's money.

But Sasuke had in some ways seemed so untouchable until their recent break-up. So…above her. Now that her rose colored glasses have been shattered and tossed in the trash, the reality is kind of refreshing if not a bit jarring at times.

 _Why did I treat him like some kind of celebrity? Like I should be grateful he even knew my name?_

It was unhealthy now that she considers it, rubbing at an absentminded doodle on the edge of her notebook paper with a well-chewed eraser.

But now? Maybe there was a chance to really get to know the boy she had idolized since childhood. Maybe she could actually be friends with him?

"Sasuke. Suigetsu."

Sakura's meandering thoughts are stopped short as Jugo walks into the living room, his cellphone clutched in a large hand. Sakura has always marveled at his bulky, muscular frame that seems so oddly paired with his almost hesitant, shy nature. She wonders how a guy like that could befriend the guy next to her, crudely excavating his ear with the tip of his pinky finger.

"What is it?" Sasuke asks.

"Just got a call in for work. Dr. O wants us there by 8:00."

Suigetsu groans in answer, abandoning his ear picking in favor of stretching indulgently to pop his back with a disgusting series of cracks before lightly jumping to his feet.

"Doesn't he know it's a school night?" Suigetsu grouses, already reaching for his shoes to lace up.

"Like that matters to you," Jugo returns with a slight smirk that earns a grin from Sakura.

Sakura watches the boys prepare, uncertain of exactly who this Dr. O is or what kind of job all three are employed in. It's the first she's hearing of any of the boys having jobs. It's hardly like Sasuke needs one. She can hear Suigetsu running the tap in the kitchen, likely filling up one of his trusty liter-sized water bottles that he's rarely without. Jugo is already shouldering on a backpack that appears stuffed with _something_ and she takes notice of his change in wardrobe, having opted for looser, more athletic-looking clothes.

Suigetsu returns a moment later as Sakura begins the process of shuffling and paper clipping her papers back into order, realizing this sudden "job" will mean it's time for her to head home.

"Hurry it up," Suigetsu chides, raising Sakura's hackles at his bossy tone before she looks up to see Suigetsu looking pointedly at Sasuke.

"I'm not going this time," Sasuke replies lazily, crossing an ankle over the opposite knee as if to emphasize his stance on the matter.

Suigetsu eyes his friend questioningly before rolling his shoulder back and sighing.

"Fine, but you know how I hate dealing with him. You're obviously his favorite. Gives me the creeps."

Sakura is clearly out of the loop as Suigetsu's words fly over her head, but she mentally shrugs it off, figuring she'll find out what all of this is about if it's truly important.

"I've got better things to do than run errands for him," Sasuke replies boredly.

"Like I don't?!" Suigetsu scoffs.

"You guys can take my cut."

"Obviously," Suigetsu grunts, already taking a sip from his water bottle, "Fine. We're outta here. Don't get freaky on the couch, you two."

Sakura shrieks at the suggestive comment, throwing an unopened plastic wrapped fork from dinner at Suigetsu's retreating back.

Jugo turns on his heel as well, murmuring a soft "See ya later" to Sakura as he follows after his housemate who is already shouldering on his own backpack and opening the door onto the quiet, darkened street of their residence.

When the door slams closed thanks to Suigetsu's overly rough pull, Sakura turns around to regard the sole and silent occupant of the couch, watching as he pretends to be engrossed in whatever movie is playing on TV.

"So, you have a job?" Sakura prompts with obvious curiosity.

"It's nothing,"

Sakura sighs in irritation. This again. The same old tired dismissal. Never letting her in on the details of his life. In the past, she had found his aloofness kind of alluring and mysterious. Now, she just finds it a pain in the ass. Can't he see she's just making conversation?

Perhaps picking up on her irritation, Sasuke surprises Sakura by actually asking a question of his own.

"What are you doing?"

"The most impossible problem in the history of chemistry," Sakura groans, head falling back to rest against the couch.

"I doubt it."

Sakura hates the way his mouth quirks up in the corner, hates that Sasuke, despite having different interests form her, has always excelled at practically everything he's ever tried – well, except maybe for cooking. Without even being in her class, he could probably figure out her homework.

Dragging herself up to the couch and lugging her book with her, Sakura gleefully drops the text in his lap, enjoying the wince Sasuke tries to conceal with a slight shift in position under the unwieldy weight of the book.

"Prove it," Sakura commands, crossing her arms and leaning back into the plushness of the couch in challenge.

Sasuke's eyes narrow at her ploy, but she delightedly watches as his gaze drops to the open book before him.

 _Who would've thought I'd be getting Sasuke Uchiha to do my homework for me tonight?_

"This is annoying," Sasuke mutters, hand already seeking out a piece of paper and pen from Sakura to begin working out the problem.

"Told you."

"No, you said it was impossible. I'm saying it's just a pain in the ass," Sasuke clarifies, pen scratching out a number in his conversion calculations.

"Hhhmm, that's not the only pain in the ass around here," Sakura hums.

Sasuke's fingers halt in their rapid-fire punching of her calculator, eyes rising to meet her amused green ones.

"Watch it, Haruno. Or I'll let you fail your class."

The warning has no bite behind it though and Sakura refuses to acknowledge the little flip in her stomach in reaction to this playful side of Sasuke.

Covering her delayed response, Sakura gives a dramatic gasp of indignation.

"I'll have you know I get the best grades in the class!"

"Yeah right. You spend too much time around Naruto. His stupid is contagious."

Sakura is caught between laughing in agreement and defending her intelligence, but gladly accepts Sasuke's help as he explains what he's doing. She doesn't notice until sometime after she's neatly packed away her school things and Sasuke notes her hair is still damp from the rain, that the space between them has eventually narrowed down to a few scant inches. It all happened naturally and without awareness or anticipation on her part.

Yawning as her eyes begin to remain closed just a little longer with each blink, Sakura pulls out her phone to check the time.

 _Shit, it's late._

Nearly eleven o'clock. Why was she still here? It was hard to tell based on Sasuke's usual lack of conversation, but he appeared to be tiring down too.

 _I should go._

Opening her texts to summon Ino to the rescue, Sakura first opens the few unopened messages waiting for her attention.

The first is from Itachi.

' _Sorry, things have been hectic this weekend. How was your day?'_

Biting unconsciously on her thumb, Sakura skips to the next one from Ino.

' _At an emergency party planning committee and these bitches are cray. I can't fix all of their life problems no matter how amazing I am. Text T to let u n when u get home xoxo'_

Realizing Ino and – perhaps more importantly – Ino's car are gone for the night due to another sorority planning/gossip session, Sakura's eyebrows furrow as she taps on the last text.

' _Hey since neither of us have heard back from u in a while I'm going 2 Shika's. Hmu if u need 2.'_

Great. Now, she'd need to pull Temari away from Shikamaru to let her back into the house. She knows Temari would do so, but Sakura would feel bad about it when the blonde so rarely gets any alone time with her boyfriend…Wait, are they even dating? Temari doesn't really like girly labels like boyfriend and girlfriend and tends to cringe at the very sound of them…

Shaking her wandering thoughts away, Sakura realizes she's left with a bit of a conundrum.

How is she getting home?

Had Ino been available, she would have just walked to the coffee shop on the next street over. It was still suspiciously close to Sasuke's place, but it would've worked in a pinch with the excuse of meeting up with her classmates to work on their assignment. Now, if she convinces Sasuke to extend his kindness once more (and she fears it's been stretched to infinitely thin threads after today), she'll have to deal with a protective Temari wondering what the hell she's doing hanging out with him after she's been avoiding him like the plague for the last week.

 _And why am I trying to hide the fact I spent the day with Sasuke?_

Sakura scratches behind her ear in thought. Surely, her girl friends could learn to accept the fact that she could maybe, somehow, manage to befriend the guy she just broke up with? Maybe?

Or maybe she just doesn't want anyone else to know, well, other than Sasuke's roommates. Because allowing her friends to know Sasuke is back in her life would make a very big statement. And it would feel like…like…

Betrayal? Of Itachi?

Moving from scratching behind her ear to massaging her temple, Sakura attempts to rationally tackle her dilemma, but no matter which way she turns it, she can't seem to find a perspective that doesn't leave her feeling guilty.

She either hides Sasuke from her friends and feels guilty because of the effort he's displayed today, or she feels guilty because she actually enjoyed today and Itachi is currently none the wiser.

 _Fuck._

As though he can feel her eyes on him, Sasuke's head swivels to the side to regard the pink-haired girl looking suddenly…nervous? Conflicted? Sasuke can't tell. The only light cast on the two comes from the soft glow of the TV screen rapidly flickering through explosive action scenes.

"Do you want me to take you home?"

Sakura's hands clasp together in her lap, unsure of how to field the question.

"Weellll," her voice wavers, as though to signal he's not going to like her answer, "Temari and Ino are still out. Ino won't be back tonight and Temari is over at Shikamaru's…" her voice trails off.

"Do you want to spend the night here?"

Sakura's wandering gaze snaps up to Sasuke's face, noting the reflective shine in his dark eyes and wondering how he can just suggest something like that so off-handedly.

Clearing her throat as inconspicuously as possible to remove the spit caught in it, Sakura seriously considers his offer.

What would it hurt? It's late. She's exhausted. She'd have to bother Temari to walk all the way back home just to let her in.

 _Uuuuummm..._

"Sure…If that's ok."

While her expression remains placid, her heart is fluttering frantically with anxiety on the inside. What the hell is she agreeing to?

Sasuke shrugs, legs falling away from the coffee table as he stirs to his feet.

"It's fine with me. C'mon, I'll show you where my room is."

Blinking in surprise, Sakura dumbly follows, wincing as she steps onto her half asleep foot and slowly mounts the darkened stairs behind her gracious host. Once they reach the second floor, Sasuke expertly locates the light switch so Sakura can stagger behind him as her eyes struggle to adjust against the sudden brightness. They enter the first door on the right and Sakura is confronted with a starkly furnished room. Without question, everything is tasteful and rather expensive for a college student, and Sasuke doesn't appear to be a slouch when it comes to keeping his room clean. Sakura is struck with the realization that this is the first time she's set foot in Sasuke's room.

And she isn't doing it as his girlfriend.

Her skin feels itchy and wrong at the thought, as though her instincts are telling her to back out _now_. Sasuke seems unaware of her misgivings of the entire situation and she watches as he sits on the edge of his bed to peel off his socks and drop them to the floor.

"You can have the bed. I'll take the couch downstairs," he offers nonchalantly. Moving to pick up a pair of shorts hanging over the back of his desk chair, he turns back around to regard Sakura staring at him dumbly.

"What?"

"I'm going to sleep," he replies slowly, as if explaining himself to a simpleton.

"Not that," Sakura snips, gaining a bit more wakefulness when confronted with Sasuke's familiar attitude

"Then what? Do you want the couch?" Sasuke crosses his arms, clearly growing impatient with the hold up.

"Wh- No! I mean, I don't know…" Sakura's eyes flicker to the bed in comprehension of exactly whose bed she would be taking up.

 _Reality is stranger than fiction._

Sasuke runs a tired hand through the back of his hair, ruffling it even more.

"Look, the sheets were just washed and I'll get you one of the extra pillows."

"It's not – Thanks," Sakura replies, a hand raising awkwardly to rub the back of her neck, "But, it's not that. I – I just…thank you. I mean, for giving up your bed. For dinner tonight. For giving me a place to stay..." she trails off, unsure of how to conclude her little list when Sasuke merely stares back at her expressionlessly.

The room goes silent, enough for Sakura to hear her own breathing. She's on high alert when Sasuke steps toward her, hand raising to trail through the long strands of hair that have mostly dried out in soft, light waves.

"Your hair is so long now."

It's true, she'd been letting it grow out for the last year although she rarely leaves it down. Just yesterday she had contemplated having it cut.

For a moment, she thinks he lowers his face as though to kiss her, but just as her eyelids lower in acceptance, he pulls back, hand falling away from her face as he turns to retrieve something from his dresser drawers.

Sakura mentally slaps herself, irritation causing her hands to curl into fists. Memories of the stolen library kiss flood her mind.

 _Get a grip!_

When he comes back to her, he holds out a pair of basketball shorts and a T-shirt that will fit little better than a shapeless sack. Sakura understands immediately that he means for them to be her pajamas and gratefully accepts them.

"Thank you," Sakura murmurs, a wave of bashfulness suddenly crashing over her.

Sasuke grunts in reply, grabbing a pillow from the bed and his phone charger from the nightstand before making his way to the door.

Sakura looks up from the soft cotton fabric in her hands to catch him go.

"Good night," she calls after him, watching as his hand stills on the door knob, his head turning to the side just the slightest to acknowledge her words.

"Night."

The door shuts softly behind him and Sakura sighs as she pulls her shirt over her head to begin changing. Once donned in baggy boy clothes, Sakura warily faces the bed, as though approaching a wild animal. When she crawls toward the middle of tonight's sleeping arrangement, she's surprised to find her hands sinking down into the bed. She had pegged Sasuke as the type to prefer a firm mattress.

Leaning back against the headboard, she pulls up the comforter around her legs and takes her phone out, bringing it up to her lips in thought.

She hadn't replied back to anyone yet. Least of all Itachi.

Figuring her roommates are likely too preoccupied with their own activities to be checking their phones at this late hour, but reasoning she'd want a response for some peace of mind if she was in their place, Sakura shoots off two quick texts to let them know she's ok.

As for Itachi…

 _It's already so late and he's been busy. He's probably in bed already._

With her thoughts assuring her the polite thing to do would be to wait until morning, Sakura sets the alarm on her phone and places it on the nightstand before turning off the light. The room is pitch black with the curtains drawn across the window to block out all streetlights. Settling her head back onto the pillow, her nose is confronted with the scent of Sasuke. His shampoo. His cologne. His Sasuke-ness…

It's all so familiar and such a confusing mix of comfort and disappointment.

"Don't fall for it," Sakura whispers aloud quietly. The darkness drinks in her words, but offers none of its own.

Dragging a hand down her face, Sakura resolves that sleep is the only answer to this mess of a day.

* * *

" _Love me, love me  
Say that you love me  
Fool me, fool me  
Go on and fool me  
Love me, love me  
Pretend that you love me  
Leave me, leave me  
Just say that you need me."_

* * *

A light knocking rouses Sakura from a dream that's already dissolving away from her memory. Confusedly, she sits up on her elbows, calling out a hushed "Yes?" into the darkened room and wondering where she is. Her pillow smells too nice to abandon and she just wants to bury her nose back in it.

However, as the door cracks open and a sliver of light from the hallway backlights the figure entering the room, Sakura immediately recalls what has happened and instantly feels the recharge from her few hours of sleep vanish.

As Sasuke approaches the side of the bed, Sakura forces herself to fully sit up, rubbing at her eyes as a yawn forces its way free.

"What is it?" she asks, but the question sounds garbled even to her own ears.

But either Sasuke manages to translate her sleep-filled mumbles or he completely steam rolls over them.

"I need to sleep in here."

"What? Why?" Sakura squints, eyes straining to adjust to the dark. She can barely make out the edge of Sasuke's head and she hears the rustle of what seems to be the pillow he must have carried back upstairs.

"Can't you hear them?"

"W-Who?" Sakura fights to articulate around a yawn.

"Listen."

Sakura would bite back something nasty at his bossy assholery if she wasn't so exhausted, but as silence stretches between them, Sakura's hearing finally picks up on what Sasuke is likely referring to. A few voices coming from downstairs filter up the staircase to Sasuke's room and though she can't quite make out the words, she can hear one distinct male voice and one distinct female voice – distinct mostly due to its unnecessarily high-pitched shriek-laughing.

Falling back so her head is comfortably cradled in her pillow once more, Sakura aks, "What is it?"

She closes her eyes, the insistent tug of sleep already pulling at the outer edges of her mind. She's too tired for this.

"Suigetsu brought back some chick from the bar and they're going at it in the kitchen. I'd really rather not be in hearing distance."

"Uuuggghh, on a Sunday night?"

"It's technically Monday morning," Sasuke corrects, equally unamused at his friend's untimely antics. Sakura perks up just enough to briefly glance at the digital clock on the nightstand and regrets it. It's a little past 2:00 am which means she has about five more hours of sleep to get in before making a mad dash home to shower and change before class.

"Fine," Sakura grumps exasperatedly, "I don't care. Just let me sleep."

With eyes already closed, Sakura scoots her half asleep body over to the side and pushes back the blankets to show Sasuke he's invited to share her space although he's not particularly welcome. Turning over to face away from her bunkmate, Sakura's mind barely manages to compute how messed up this entire situation is. Mere weeks ago she'd be elated to the point of hyperventilation that she's sleeping in bed next to Sasuke. Now all she can do is curl her fists in frustration as she sinks lower into soothing unconsciousness.

She feels the slight shift of the mattress as Sasuke's weight is added to it.

This is just another complication.

* * *

" _One, don't pick up the phone  
You know he's only calling 'cause he's drunk and alone.  
Two, don't let him in  
You'll have to kick him out again.  
Three, don't be his friend  
You know you're gonna wake up in his bed in the morning.  
And if you're under him, you ain't gettin' over him."_

* * *

Sakura's cheek shifts comfortably against the mattress, having lost the pillow over the edge of the bed sometime in her few blissful hours of unconsciousness. In truth, her mind is still pretty much in a dim fog tapering off into the beginnings of waking. The bed beneath her is the only solid, real thing to her awareness.

Well, that and the warmth radiating against her back.

Between her shoulder blades, she can feel the press of Sasuke's face through the thin cotton of her borrowed shirt, his exhales creating a concentrated spot of heat in an already wide expanse of warmth. Scrunching her eyes shut against the unfairness, Sakura presses her own face into the coolness of the mattress to block out the reality and her need to extricate herself from this rather uncomfortably intimate situation.

Maybe if she digs deep enough she can plummet back into dreamland.

However, time is not on Sakura's side.

The first week rays of light have barely begun to peek over the horizon when two occupants of the same bed are startled completely awake to the insistent – and atrociously obnoxious – call of Sakura's rooster alarm ringtone. Sakura's reflexes are so finely tuned to its beckoning shrieks that she blindly locates the phone and turns it off in under three seconds.

Sasuke, however, is not accustomed to such a rude, rather peasant-like awakening.

Sakura's face lights up with mirth as Sasuke half falls over the side of his bed, dragging the comforter with him and away from her curled up form. With bleary, squinting eyes and hair even more mussed up than usual, he pegs Sakura with a glare that should, by all accounts, cause her to burst into flames.

Miraculously, she remains unburnt.

However, Sakura restrains the laugh threatening to break free; its strength is liable to shake the walls of the apartment. After all, she needs this disgruntled case of serious bedhead to drive her home.

"Come on, I need to get going," Sakura reminds the Uchiha slipping back into bed. She moderates her tone with a brisk, business-like attitude. Turning her back to him as she slides out of bed, Sakura pops her neck before deciding a quick trip to the bathroom is in order before she'll be good to go back to her normal routine where everything makes sense. The faster she gets out from under Sasuke's roof, the better.

Upon returning to the bedroom, Sakura frowns impatiently at the boy now claiming the middle of the bed, a pillow covering his head to block what little light is breaching his window.

Sakura stomps to the side of the bed, none too gently ripping the pillow away and flinging it away where it accidentally knocks over the small deskside wastebasket.

 _Oops._

"Hurry it up, Sasuke. I need you to take me home."

A dull hum emanates somewhere from the general vicinity of said boy's mouth, but it's too unintelligible to decipher with his face pressed firmly into the mattress.

"Pleeeaaassee?" Sakura tries again, attempting to muster a little sweetness.

When that earns her no response, Sakura's eyes rove over the room until they alight on the object so neatly and perfectly sitting out on top of the dresser.

Grabbing the keys and being sure to give them a definite rattle, Sakura tromps back to the side of the bed one last time.

"Ooook, I guess I'll just be borrowing your car to drive myself home. See you later, Sasuke."

She barely makes it two steps to the door before Sasuke is out of bed, angrily holding out his hand for her to return his keys as he stuffs his feet into sneakers without bothering to locate socks.

"As if."

Sakura smirks in victory as she follows behind the grumpy Uchiha rubbing his eyes clear of sleep. She's never been privy to Sasuke's waking habits or morning routine, so she mentally files the information of Sasuke decidedly NOT being a morning person into her trivial information folder. Amusedly, her eyes watch as he drags a tired hand over the back of his head, fingers trying to inconspicuously work at tugging some of the untamable locks into a semblance of purposeful arrangement as he lumbers down the stairs.

 _Give it up, pretty boy. You can't be perfectly coiffed all the time._

But her attention is snapped away from Sasuke's half-hearted grooming to stare with disbelief at the catastrophe awaiting Sasuke and the rest of his housemates. The kitchen is in complete disarray with what looks like an imploded bag of microwave popcorn scattered across the floor and several plates smeared with some kind of sauce that is now encrusted on the ceramic. Dish towels have fallen on the floor and one of the bar stools is propped against the wall, missing a leg.

 _I guess Suigetsu was busy last night._

Said boy is lightly snoring in the living room, sprawled out on his back with the hem of his shirt hiked up to expose a surprisingly sculpted abdomen. Sakura watches with muted bemusement as a wandering hand scratches unconsciously at the exposed skin before falling limp once more. Her eyes next alight on a rather brightly colored head of hair spilling over the side of the couch, hair so bright, in fact, that Sakura pales at the mere sight of it.

However, her brain manages to point out to her erratically beating heart that the colors aren't an exact match, the length isn't long enough, and the girl sports a tan in contrast to the light tone Karin flaunts. Lungs deflating with a sigh of relief and adrenaline spike plummeting in a dizzying crash, Sakura snatches up her backpack, noting the same one Suigetsu had toted the previous night now lies discarded and decidedly empty next to it.

Sasuke doesn't comment on the wreckage as he unlocks the front door, but she doesn't miss the clenching of his jaw. A certain little rat is in for a reaming she almost wishes she could be present to witness.

Slipping on her shoes at the front door, Sakura looks out the window to note that at least the rain has finally let up. A slight chill leaves goosebumps creeping up her bare legs as Sakura plods tiredly behind the silent Uchiha, grumbling at the obnoxious weight of her backpack as the straps hit the same tender places around her shoulders where they always rest.

 _Sasuke probably got even less sle –_

"Hey, pinky! Your ride is waiting."

A series of ear-splitting honks punctuate that bellowed outcry with an exuberance that leaves the street's trees barren of birds as they take to the skies in squawking indignation.

Sakura all but collides with Sasuke's back, her eyes previously having been trained on the wet ground. Head whipping up in alarm at the voice who can only be indicating herself with an unoriginal nickname like that, Sakura finds a sharp pair of shades and an even sharper set of teeth relishing the surprise overtaking her face.

"K-Kisame?" Sakura all but squeaks, edging around Sasuke for a less obstructed view to admit to herself that yes, that is indeed said Akatsuki casually lounging against the bumper of a sports car that looks way too tiny to house such a hulking beast of a man.

But Sakura has little time to offer more of a greeting as Sasuke shoulders in front of her once more, stance widening.

"What are _you_ doing here?"

Ah, there's that condescending derisiveness she's come to know and detest.

Kisame calmly whisks his shades from his face, tucking an earpiece down the collar of his shirt. "I'm kindly escorting this young lady home," Kisame barely raises an eyebrow at Itachi's kid brother and his snotty attitude, instead opting to train his focus on the still partly gaping pink-haired girl behind him.

Uncrossing his arms and shifting his weight back onto his feet, Kisame easily glides over to the passenger side, swinging the door open wide in invitation.

"Your chariot awaits, Pinky," Kisame winks, "And hop to it. I got a schedule to keep to."

"Uh, I – "

"She doesn't need you," Sasuke huffs, reaching out to touch Sakura's elbow with every intention of steering her toward his car in the driveway, "I was just about to take her there myself."

Kisame makes a dismissive sound, eyes narrowing tightly with cruel enjoyment, "No need, _kid_. I'd be happy to do it for you. I know how much time you need to style that mop of yours."

Sasuke's eyes widen at the barb, keys tinkling together as his fist tightens. Sakura can't help the small peep of a laugh that escapes and she's encouraged to step forward as Kisame's grin widens. It's enough to make Sasuke break physical contact with her and Sakura looks back to his decidedly stormy countenance with an apologetic smile.

"Really, Sasuke, it's ok. You've done enough to help me out," Sakura musters as much gratefulness as she can, given the circumstances, "I'll wash your clothes and get them back to you as soon as I can," Sakura says looking down at herself with Sasuke's baggy gym shorts hanging loosely past her knees and her feet clad in contrastingly girlish sandals.

She moves past him, a bit hesitant to share a ride with another Akatsuki, particularly considering the uncertain ground she stands on when it comes to Itachi, but the need to break away from Sasuke and whatever uneasy… _thing_ they have going on between them compels her forward.

Unfortunately, Sasuke isn't one to be ditched so easily. As she should well be aware.

Angrily, Sasuke follows suit, ignoring the warning glare from Kisame as he reaches out once more for Sakura, managing to grasp hold of her hand. Sakura turns her head, caught by surprise at Sasuke's insistence and suddenly odd pattern of initiating touch.

"What is this?" Sasuke asks, "Why is Akatsuki suddenly offering themselves up as a taxi service?" Sasuke scoffs, not backing down from the older man whose own posture loses some of its nonchalance in the face of such pompous demanding. Though he's holding onto her, this is clearly a conversation that excludes Sakura. Kisame maintains the glimmer of a smirk.

"I would think that'd be obvious," Kisame taunts, gesturing for Sakura to relinquish her backpack and pass it to him so he can stow it in the car for her.

Sakura worries her bottom lip nervously. Obviously, whatever is going on clearly involves her, and yet here she is, fairly clueless as to what in the hell Itachi truly feels for her, much less Sasuke who is now chasing after her. Is she just the rope in this game of tug of war?

 _Ugh, I need to get home and get ready for class._

At this point it doesn't matter. She's standing in borrowed, ill-fitting clothes, needs to shower, and will have to haul ass to make it to her recitation so she can hand in her assignment on time.

"Itachi needs to back off," Sasuke nearly growls. Sakura's eyes widen at the venom in that proclamation. For as long as she's known him, Sasuke has adored his older brother to the point of idolatry, and even if his affection has toned down as he matured, she had never believed him capable of hostility toward Itachi. Could this really be just about her or is there something deeper at work here?

"Don't be so sour, kid. Admitting defeat with grace can go a long way," Kisame says, gently prodding Sakura into the car, Sasuke's grip on her having loosened enough to pull her away without resistance now that he's been distracted.

"Oh, and in case it isn't clear," Kisame turns back to the fuming Uchiha before him after ensuring his charge has seated herself comfortably, "Itachi's won."

With that said, Kisame seems inclined to leave the young Uchiha fuming on his front lawn as he shuts Sakura's door and makes his way around to the other side. Sakura is both relieved and surprised to watch as Sasuke turns on his heel without another glance her way to return back inside his apartment, the front door slamming shut just as Kisame pushes the button to start the ignition.

Kisame sighs tiredly, backing out of his parallel parking spot as he glances at his curious passenger out of the corner of his eye.

"Those Uchiha, always so moody," he grumbles good-naturedly.

Sakura has to concur.

After a few moments of silence, Sakura finally plucks up the courage to ask one of several (read hundreds) of questions plaguing her mind.

"How did you know where I was?" Sakura asks as she takes in the tan interior of the vehicle. It still has that new car smell and is oddly roomy inside despite outward appearances. The radio is off, allowing her to hear the nearly silent hum of the tires rolling over pavement.

"It wasn't that difficult," Kisame manages to shrug against the restraint of his seatbelt, "One of our watchdogs saw you get in Sasuke's car last night and you were never spotted coming back home."

"I really need to have a word with him about that," Sakura growls under her breath, thoroughly displeased about what could practically be called stalking, "Wait! Do you mean to tell me someone just watched me find myself locked out of my own home and sitting in the rain AND they didn't offer to help?!"

Sakura's mounting irritation is broken by Kisame's bark of laughter.

"It's not that funny," Sakura mutters petulantly, "If none of that happened, I wouldn't have had to play sleepover with Sasuke."

"Ah, well, Itachi will be relieved to hear that," Kisame comments, fighting to subdue his chuckles.

"W-What do you mean?" Sakura asks, face heating for reasons she doesn't want to examine too closely.

"We weren't quite sure what you were up to. Let's just say the guy who had to let Itachi know you spent the night with his little brother nearly pissed himself," Kisame replies, not without a hint of fondness at the memory.

Sakura groans with annoyance at the implication, doing her best to tamp down on the surge of…of what? Hope? Warmth?

She really needs to speak with Itachi.

With the early hour, the roads are fairly clear of traffic and Sakura soon finds herself riding down the familiar street of scraggly lawns and tired brick buildings in need of a fresh coat of paint on the doors and shutters.

"Oh, before I forget, Itachi wanted you to have something," Kisame pipes up suddenly. With a concentrated eye on the road, his right hand shifts on the wheel as his left reaches into the side pocket on the inside of the driver's door. After a moment's worth of patting around, he triumphantly pulls it out and deposits it into Sakura's awaiting hand.

 _Jewelry. This has to be jewelry._

Boys don't get long, thin boxes like this for anything else. The box is small and rectangular, plain white and tied with a golden cord in a neat bow to keep the lid on. She knows Ino would be squealing with glee in her place, but all Sakura can manage is a nearly imperceptible swallow of apprehension as she prepares to reveal –

 _The bracelet._

Kisame comes to a stop along the sidewalk in front of her duplex, but all Sakura has eyes for is the beaded pink and green bracelet nestled atop a small rectangle of cotton padding.

"Oh! It's…"

But she can't finish the thought with words. Words don't describe the nostalgia, the bittersweet longing for childhood and friendship and carefree summers of the past that are embedded within the fabric of this piece of artisan craftsmanship. What she wouldn't do to recapture those days, and Itachi…

He knew it.

He understood that much about her at least.

Kisame eyes the girl who has apparently yet to realize they've made it to her home, so captivated by the little bracelet as she is. He had raised his eyebrow at Itachi's choice of gifts when he asked Kisame if he would do him the favor of picking up the wandering girl. Itachi certainly wasn't hurting for money and it had been Kisame's belief that women wanted gifts of a pricier commitment – gold, silver, gemstones, and the like. And yet, Sakura only has eyes for this small scrap of woven fabric found in some stall at a community art festival.

Sakura shakes herself out of her inner musings, closing the lid firmly on her gift before lifting her face up to find herself exactly where she's supposed to be.

"Oh! We're here!" Sakura hastens to unbuckle herself and grab up her belongings, giving her sincere thanks to Kisame who dismisses her with an amused wave and the joking admonishment that she better hurry or she'll get detention.

* * *

" _I met you in the dark  
You lit me up.  
You made me feel as though  
I was enough."_

* * *

Despite the overcast sky and resuming drizzle on her near jog to campus, Sakura is warm with exertion and nearly panting after the rapid ascension of four flights of stairs. She knew it would be worth it to skip the horrendously slow elevator to make it in time to class and snatch her preferred seat.

With a sigh of relief, Sakura sinks into the hard plastic of her chair, slapping her completed assignment down on the tiny excuse for a desk, ready to be collected by the teaching assistant wandering lethargically up and down the aisles with a sleep-deprived stare.

She greets Shino once she's caught her breath and manages a sip from her water bottle, assuring him that she's fine.

 _More than fine, actually._

Admiringly, Sakura glances down at the hand resting atop her completed assignment, more specifically at the bracelet encircling her wrist.

* * *

" _Just please don't say you love me  
'Cause I might not say it back.  
Doesn't mean my heart stops skipping when you look at me like that.  
There's no need to worry when you see just where we're at  
Just please don't say you love me  
'Cause I might not say it back."_

* * *

 **Author's Note:** **Confession: I don't have a clue where any of this is going. I have about five different scenarios as to how this whole story is going to play out romance-wise. SasuSaku, ItaSaku, SasuSakuIta, Sakura with no one, or a complete surprise! So yeah, that's where this is at right now.**

 **Based on some of the reviews from the last chapter, I know some readers aren't a fan of Sasuke in this and this chapter seems very Sasuke-oriented. I hope this didn't come as a huge disappointment, but I had some of these interactions planned while writing the previous chapter. However, don't despair! Sakura isn't all on board the Sasuke train in this chapter. She's very confused by him. Speaking of, this is really the first time I've written his character to have a significant part and it just feels weird.**

 **And I apologize for seemingly disappearing. Nothing is abandoned, but I'm in grad school at the moment and free time is little more than a concept at this point in my life.**

 **Lyrics came from the following songs:**

" **Please Don't Say You Love Me" – Gabrielle Aplin**

" **Bad Liar" – Selena Gomez**

" **Heavy" – Linkin Park ft. Kiiara**

" **Break My Heart" – Hey Violet**

" **Bad Things" – Machine Gun Kelly & Camila Cabello**

" **Lovefool" – The Cardigans**

" **New Rules" – Dua Lipa**

" **Say You Won't Let Go" – James Arthur**

 **Reviews are fuel.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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